August Apparent Steel Supply Climbs to 2.5-Year High

August apparent supply is up 37.7% compared to the same month last year, when supply was 7.14 million tons. This increase was primarily due to an increase in domestic shipments of 1.87 million tons, followed by a million-ton increase in finished steel imports, partially negated by a 181,000-ton increase in exports. The net trade balance between U.S. steel imports and exports was at a surplus of 2.01 million tons imported in August, up 181.9% from one year prior. Finished steel imports accounted for 22.2% of apparent steel supply in August, up 5.6% from one year ago.

Compared to the month prior when the apparent supply was 9.70 million tons, August supply rose by 130,000 tons or 1.3%. This increase was primarily due to a 126,000-ton increase in domestic shipments, with an 11,000-ton increase in finished imports being mostly negated by an 8,000-ton increase in exports. The net trade balance between imports and exports in August fell 13.4% from July, and the percentage of apparent steel supply composed of finished steel imports declined 0.2%.

The figure below shows year-to-date averages for each statistic over the last five years. The average monthly apparent supply level for the first eight months of 2021 has greatly improved compared to the 2020 average, but is 335,000-490,000 tons lower compared to the monthly averages of all previous years shown.

To see an interactive graphic of our Apparent Steel Supply history (example shown below), visit the Apparent Steel Supply page in the Analysis section of the SMU website. If you need any assistance logging into or navigating the website, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.

By Brett Linton, Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com