Steel Products Prices North America

Apparent Steel Supply Hits 110 Million Tons in 2021, Highest Since 2018
Written by Brett Linton
February 15, 2022
U.S. apparent steel supply levels slipped 3% from November to December, down 286,000 net tons to 9.48 million net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. Recall that September 2021 saw the highest monthly supply level in over six years, going back to January 2015 when supply surpassed 10 million tons.
Apparent steel supply, a proxy for demand, is determined by combining domestic steel mill shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then deducting total U.S. steel exports.
Apparent supply for 2021 totaled 110.3 million tons, up 22% from 90.3 million tons in 2020, and up 1% from 109.5 million tons in 2019. In Steel Market Update’s ~13-year data history, 2014 holds the annual record at 119.5 million tons.
December apparent supply is 1.70 million tons higher than the same month one year ago, when supply was 7.79 million tons. This 22% improvement was primarily due to a 912,000-ton increase in finished steel imports and an 822,000-ton rise in domestic shipments, the sum of which was slightly reduced by a 38,000-ton increase in total exports. The net trade balance between U.S. steel imports and exports was at a surplus of 2.23 million tons imported in December, 1.35 million tons higher than one year prior. Finished steel imports accounted for 24% of apparent steel supply in December, up from 17% this time last year.
Compared to the month prior when apparent supply was 9.77 million tons, December supply declined by 286,000 tons. This decrease was due to a 334,000-ton decline in finished steel imports and a 22,000-ton decrease in domestic shipments, partially negated by a 70,000-ton decrease in total exports. The net trade balance between imports and exports in December fell 8% from November, and the percentage of apparent steel supply composed of finished steel imports decreased 3%.
The figure below shows monthly averages for each statistic over the last five years. The average monthly apparent supply level for 2021 has greatly improved compared to the 2020 average and is now back in line with the monthly averages of most 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

Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

Nucor slows HRC price climb with $5/ton increase
After eight weeks of double-digit price increases on hot-rolled (HR) coil, Nucor slowed the price rise this week with an increase of $5 per short ton.

Domestic CRC prices surge ahead of imports
The price spread between stateside-produced CR and imports reached its widest margin in over a year.

Evraz raises plate prices $160/ton
Evraz North America (NA) has followed Nucor and SSAB with a plate price increase of its own: up $160 per short ton (st). The increase was effective immediately for all new orders of carbon, high-strength low-alloy, and normalized and quenched-and-tempered plate products, as well as for hot-rolled coil, the steelmaker said in a letter to […]

Nucor lifts HR coil to $820/ton
Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil for a fourth consecutive week.

Nucor pushes HR spot price to $790/ton
Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $790 per short ton (st) on Monday, Feb. 10 – a $15/st bump vs. last week. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company has raised its weekly CSP by $40/st over the past three weeks after maintaining tags at $750/st since Nov. 12, according to SMU’s […]