Steel Mills

Canadian Distributor Flat Rolled Shipments/Inventories Lower

Written by Brett Linton

October 18, 2016

Canadian shipments for all steel products in the month of September were 370,800 net tons, an increase of 1.6 percent from the month before but a decrease of 8.5 percent from September 2015. Inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,116,500 tons, down 2.8 percent from last month and down 15.6 percent from the same month one year ago.

The daily average receipt rate for September was 16,114 tons per day (21 day month), down from 18,768 tons per day in August (22 day month). Total September receipts were 74,500 tons lower than the August figure. According to the MSCI, total steel product inventories stood at 3.0 months at the end of September, down from 3.1 months the month prior.

Flat Rolled

Canadian shipments of flat rolled products for the month of September were 203,600 tons, a decrease of 4.0 percent from August and a decrease of 14.7 percent from the same month one year ago. Inventories at the end of the month were 638,900 tons, down 2.2 percent from last month and down 23.4 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily receipt rate for September was 9,010 tons per day, down from 10,568 tons per day in August. Total tonnage received was 189,200 tons, down from 232,500 tons the month before. Flat rolled inventories stood at 3.1 months in September, unchanged from August.

Plate

Canadian shipments for plate products in the month of September were 66,000 tons, an increase of 21.8 percent from the previous month but a decrease of 5.1 percent from September 2015. Inventories at the end of the month were 200,500 tons, down 5.8 percent from last month and down 7.6 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for September was 2,552 tons per day, down from 2,795 tons per day the month before. Plate inventories ended the month at 3.0 months, down from 3.9 months the month before.

Pipe and Tube

Canadian shipments for pipe and tube products in the month of September were 49,100 tons, an increase of 7.4 percent from the month before but a decrease of 2.2 percent from the same month last year. Inventories at the end of the month were 124,000 tons, down 3.1 percent from last month and down 4.6 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for September was 2,148 tons per day, down from 2,441 tons per day the month before. Total months on hand for pipe and tube inventories stood at 2.5 months, down from 2.8 months at the end of August.

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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