Steel Mills

Canadian Distributor Flat Rolled Shipments/Inventories in December

Written by Brett Linton

January 19, 2017

Total Canadian steel shipments for all products in December were 289,900 net tons, a decrease of 27.2 percent from the month before but an increase of 6.2 percent from December 2015. Total steel inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,170,600 tons, up 7.6 percent from last month and up 0.4 percent from the same month one year ago.

The daily average receipt rate for December was 18,640 tons per day (20 day month), down from 19,290 tons per day in November (21 day month). Total December steel receipts were 372,800 tons, 32,300 tons lower than the November figure. According to the MSCI, total steel product inventories stood at 4.0 months at the end of December, up from 2.7 months the month before.

Flat Rolled

Canadian shipments of flat rolled products for the month of December were 154,700 tons, a decrease of 28.7 percent from November but an increase of 3.5 percent from the same month one year ago. Inventories at the end of the month were 724,800 tons, up 14.3 percent from last month and up 2.4 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily receipt rate for December was 12,280 tons per day, up from 11,729 tons per day in November. Total tonnage received was 245,600 tons, down from 246,300 tons the month before. Flat rolled inventories stood at 4.7 months in December, up from 2.9 months of supply in November.

Plate

Canadian shipments for plate products in December were 55,700 tons, a decrease of 16.1 percent from the previous month but an increase of 5.2 percent from December 2015. Inventories at the end of the month were 179,300 tons, down 4.3 percent from last month and down 7.1 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for December was 2,380 tons per day, down from 2,762 tons per day the month before. Plate inventories ended the month at 3.2 months, up from 2.8 months the month before.

Pipe and Tube

Canadian shipments for pipe and tube products in the month of December were 37,400 tons, a decrease of 28.2 percent from the month before but an increase of 3.1 percent from the same month last year. Inventories at the end of the month were 119,000 tons, down 0.8 percent from last month and down 11.3 percent from the same month one year ago. The daily average receipt rate for December was 1,825 tons per day, down from 2,300 tons per day the month before. Total months on hand for pipe and tube inventories stood at 3.2 months, up from 2.3 months at the end of November.

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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