Steel Mills

Canadian Distributor Sheet Inventories & Shipments Dropped in April

Written by Brett Linton

May 17, 2016

Canadian shipments for all steel products in the month of April were 372,800 net tons, a decrease of 4.9 percent from the month before and a decrease of 12.9 percent from April 2015. Inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,270,300 tons, up 6.9 percent from last month but down 20.7 percent from the same month one year ago.

The daily average receipt rate for April was 21,662 tons per day (21 day month), up from 16,759 tons per day in March (22 day month). Total April receipts were 86,200 tons higher than the March figure. According to the MSCI, total steel product inventories stood at 3.4 months at the end of April, up from 3.0 months at the end of March.

Flat Rolled

Canadian shipments of flat rolled products for the month of April were 225,300 tons, a decrease of 2.4 percent from March and a decrease of 11.3 percent from the same month one year ago. Inventories at the end of the month were 702,100 tons, down 2.3 percent from last month and down 31.3 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily receipt rate for April was 9,957 tons per day, up from 8,850 tons per day in March. Total tonnage received was 209,100 tons, up from 194,700 tons the month before. Flat rolled inventories stood at 3.1 months in April, unchanged from last month.

Plate

Canadian shipments for plate products in the month of April were 63,900 tons, a decrease of 5.3 percent from the previous month and a decrease of 20.6 percent from April 2015. Inventories at the end of the month were 198,600 tons, up 2.4 percent from last month but down 30.2 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for April was 3,262 tons per day, down from 3,523 tons per day the month before. Plate inventories ended the month at 3.1 months, up from 2.9 months the month prior.

Pipe and Tube

Canadian shipments for pipe and tube products in the month of April were 39,700 tons, a decrease of 17.3 percent from the month before and a decrease of 17.2 percent from the same month last year. Inventories at the end of the month were 125,800 tons, down 7.3 percent from last month and down 11.5 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for April was 1,419 tons per day, down from 2,164 tons per day the month before. Total months on hand for pipe and tube inventories stood at 3.2 months, up from 2.8 months at the end of March.

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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