Steel Products Prices North America

Apparent Steel Supply Rises 6% in March

May 14, 2023

US apparent steel supply rose 6% in March to 8.03 million net tons compared to the previous month, according to data from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Apparent steel supply is determined by combining domestic steel mill shipments and finished US steel imports, then deducting total US steel exports.

Apparent Supply March 2023 Fig1 March apparent supply total was 1.48 million tons lower than the same month one year prior when supply stood at 9.5 million tons. Figure 2 shows March trade statistics year over year (YOY) for each of the past three years.

Apparent Supply March 2023 Fig2

Apparent steel supply slipped to 3.3 million tons in January, down from 8.2 million tons in December, and then started to climb over the past few months. Figure 3 shows monthly statistics over the last three months.

Apparent Supply March 2023 Fig3

Figure 4 shows year-to-date (YTD) monthly averages for each statistic over the last five years. The average monthly apparent supply level for 2023 thus far is 6.3 million tons.

Apparent Supply March 2023 Fig4

To see an interactive graphic of our Apparent Steel Supply history, 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 Becca Moczygemba, becca@steelmarketupdate.com

Becca Moczygemba

Becca Moczygemba is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has been in the steel industry since 2017, specializing in flat-rolled products. Prior to joining SMU, she held positions at Mitsui & Co. and Kloeckner Metals. Becca has a BA in Organizational/Corporate Communication from the University of Houston and an MBA from Norwich University. Contact Becca at becca@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1000.