Steel Mills

Canadian Distributor Flat Rolled Inventories at 3.5 Months

Written by Brett Linton

October 15, 2015

Canadian shipments for all steel products in the month of September were 451,600 net tons, an increase of 5.5 percent from the month before but a decrease of 8.7 percent from September 2014. Inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,462,000 tons, down 5.7 percent from last month and down 3.3 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for September was 17,281 tons (21 day month), down from 17,490 tons the month before (20 day month). Total September receipts were 13,100 tons higher than the August figure. According to the MSCI, total months on hand stood at 3.4 months on a seasonally adjust basis or 3.2 months unadjusted.

Flat Rolled

Canadian shipments of flat rolled products for the month of September were 238,800 tons, an increase of 3.7 percent from the month before but a decrease of 1.2 percent from the same month one year ago. Inventories at the end of the month were 833,600 tons, down 6.7 percent from last month but up 3.3 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily receipt rate for September was 8,533 tons, up from 8,380 tons the month before. Total tonnage received was 179,200 tons, up from 167,600 tons the month before. Flat rolled inventories stood at 3.5 months on a seasonally adjust basis or 3.6 months on an unadjusted basis at the end of September.

Plate

Canadian shipments for plate products in the month of September were 69,500 tons, an increase of 5.0 percent from the month before but a decrease of 27.9 percent from September 2014. Inventories at the end of the month were 217,100 tons, a decrease of 4.0 percent from last month and a decrease of 23.4 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for September was 2,881 tons, up from the 2,690 tons the month before. Plate inventories ended the month at 3.1 months on a seasonally adjust basis or 3.3 months unadjusted.

Pipe and Tube

Canadian shipments for pipe and tube products in the month of September were 50,400 tons, an increase of 4.3 percent from the month before but a decrease of 15.6 percent from the same month last year. Inventories at the end of the month were 130,500 tons, down 3.2 percent from last month and down 5.1 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for September was 2,195 tons, down from 2,455 tons the month before. Total months on hand for pipe and tube inventories stood at 2.6 months on a seasonally adjust basis or 2.8 months on an unadjusted basis.

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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