Steel Shipments Recorded Substantial Decline in August

The monthly steel shipment data published by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) suggests substantial decline during the month of August this year compared with the same month a year before. The year-to-date shipments by mills too were down sharply over 2019. On the other hand, the shipments surged considerably over the prior month.

According to AISI data, the steel mills shipped 6.533 million net tons in August this year. This is down by 22.9% from the shipments of 8.472 million net tons in August 2019. The shipments during the month recorded marginal increase by 8.2% from the prior month. It must be noted that the shipments had totalled only 6.036 million net tons in July 2020.

The AISI data indicates that year-to-date steel shipments by the U.S. totalled 53.786 million net tons in 2020. This is modestly lower by 17.0% when matched with those during the corresponding period in 2019. The shipments had totalled 64.810 million net tons during the first eight months in 2019.

The report provides month-on-month comparison of shipment volumes of various steel products. The shipments of cold rolled sheets surged higher by 16% from July 2020. The shipments of dipped galvanized sheet and strip and hot rolled sheet were up by 9% and 6% respectively.