Steel Products Prices North America

June Apparent Steel Supply Rises to 10 Month High

August 11, 2016

According to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of June 2016 was 9,098,316 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US steel exports.

June apparent steel supply represents a 275,182 ton or 2.9 percent decrease compared to the same month one year ago when apparent steel supply was 9,373,498 tons. This is primarily due to a 129,134 ton or 1.7 percent decrease in domestic shipments and a 220,028 ton or 8.8 percent decline in finished U.S. steel imports, with a decrease in total U.S. steel exports of 73,979 tons or 8.4 percent slightly negating the change.

The last time apparent steely supply was this high was in August 2015 when it was 9,136,737 tons.

The net trade balance between US steel imports and exports was a surplus of +2,010,683 tons imported in June 2016, 204,578 tons or 9.2 percent less than that of June 2015. Foreign steel imports accounted for 25.1 percent of apparent steel supply, down 1.6 percent over the same month one year ago.

SMU Note: Our Premium Level apparent steel supply analysis goes into much more detail as we provide data on apparent steel supply for flat and long products. We will publish this analysis to our Premium level members tomorrow.

When compared to last month when apparent steel supply was at 8,957,525 tons, June supply increased by 140,791 tons or 1.6 percent. This is due to a 8.6 percent or 181,564 ton increase in finished imports, with a 0.4 percent or 33,026 ton decline in domestic shipments and a 1.0 percent or 7,747 ton increase in total exports canceling out a fragment of that.

The table below shows year to date totals for each statistic over the last five years. Note that these averages are calculated through the first six months of the year. 2016 figures so far remain lower than most of the previous years for all items listed.

To see an interactive graphic of our Apparent Steel Supply history, visit the Apparent Steel Supply page in the Analysis section of the SMU website. If you need any assistance logging in or navigating the website, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475.

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.