Steel Products Prices North America

August Apparent Steel Supply

Written by Brett Linton

October 8, 2014

Apparent steel supply for August was 10,252,449 net tons, down slightly from July which was the largest tonnage month since the beginning of the Great Recession. Apparent steel supply is calcualted by adding domestic shipments and finished US imports and subtracting total US exports. Note that our Premium member analysis breaks down apparent steel supply by flat and long products.

August supply represents a 836,077 ton or 8.9 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This is primarily due to the massive spike in 2014 imports, with total August imports up 28.5 percent or 820,068 tons over August 2013 tonnage. Domestic shipments and finished imports also increased over levels one year prior, while exports decreased. The net trade balance between imports and exports was a surplus of 2,650,175 tons in August, an increase of 53.1 percent from the same month last year.

When compared to last month’s high when apparent steel supply was at 10,588,648 tons, August supply decreased by 336,199 tons or 3.2 percent. This is due to a decrease in finished imports as well as an increase in total exports.

SMU Note: Our Premium level member analysis goes into more detail as we provide data on apparent steel supply for flat and long products.

On a year to date basis (YTD), the 2014 averages remain above what we measured during the previous two years, with the exception of total exports. At this time, the U.S. is on pace to exceed 2013 apparent steel supply by approximately 4 percent. We should end the year very close to the 100 million net ton mark.

You can view the interactive graphic of our Apparent Steel Supply history below when you are logged into the website and reading the newsletter online. If you need help accessing or navigating the website, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475.

{amchart id=”120″ Apparent Steel Supply- Domestic Shipments, Semi-Fin Imports, Exports}

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

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