Steel Mills

Service Center Steel Inventories & Shipments in July

Written by Brett Linton

August 25, 2016

Last week the Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) reported shipments and inventories for the month of July. We produced an article that normally goes to our Premium level members only last week but, one of our clients requested that we produce the report in the format we normally use for our Executive level members. Here goes:

US shipments for all steel products in the month of July were 2,918,700 net tons, a decrease of 13.8 percent from the month before and a decrease of 15.2 percent from July 2015. Inventories at the end of the month stood at 7,847,500 tons, up 2.7 percent from last month but down 14.5 percent from the same month one year ago.

The daily average receipt rate for July was 156,300 tons per day (20 day month), down from 156,550 tons per day in June (22 day month). Total July receipts were 318,100 tons lower than the June figure. According to the MSCI, total steel product inventories stood at 2.7 months at the end of July, up from 2.3 months the month prior.

Flat Rolled

US shipments of flat rolled products for the month of July were 1,999,200 tons, a decrease of 14.1 percent from June and a decrease of 10.4 percent from the same month one year ago. Inventories at the end of the month were 4,973,500 tons, up 4.6 percent from last month but down 13.5 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily receipt rate for July was 110,950 tons per day, up from 105,155 tons per day in June. Total tonnage received was 2,219,000 tons, down from 2,313,400 tons the month before. Flat rolled inventories stood at 2.5 months in July, up from 2.0 months in June.

Plate

US shipments for plate products in the month of July were 246,400 tons, a decrease of 9.2 percent from the previous month and a decrease of 35.4 percent from July 2015. Inventories at the end of the month were 857,600 tons, up 3.6 percent from last month but down 19.5 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for July was 13,795 tons per day, down from 15,132 tons per day the month before. Plate inventories ended the month at 3.5 months, up from 3.1 months the month before.

Pipe and Tube

US shipments for pipe and tube products in the month of July were 173,300 tons, a decrease of 15.7 percent from the month before and a decrease of 24.1 percent from the same month last year. Inventories at the end of the month were 510,300 tons, down 8.0 percent from last month and down 26.9 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for July was 6,450 tons per day, down from 9,314 tons per day the month before. Total months on hand for pipe and tube inventories stood at 2.9 months, up from 2.7 months in June.

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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