AISI Posted Substantial Decline in Steel Shipments

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The monthly steel shipment data published by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) suggests substantial decline during the month of May this year compared with the same month a year before. The shipments plunged over the prior month as well. The year-to-date shipments by mills too were down sharply over 2019.

According to AISI data, the steel mills shipped 5.462 million net tons in May this year. This is down by 32.9% from the shipments of 8.142 million net tons in May 2019. The shipments during the month recorded marginal decline by 2.9% from the prior month. It must be noted that the shipments had totalled 5.623 million net tons in April 2020.

The AISI data indicates that year-to-date steel shipments by the U.S. totalled 35.195 million net tons in 2020. This is modestly lower by 13.1% when matched with those during the corresponding period in 2019. The shipments had totalled 40.505 million net tons during January to May in 2019.

The report provides month-on-month comparison of shipment volumes of various steel products. The shipments of hot dipped galvanized sheet and strip declined by 3% from April 2020. The shipments of hot rolled sheet and cold rolled sheet were down by 4% and 6% respectively.