Shipments by U.S. Steel Mills Surged 5.2% in May

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest statistics published by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) suggests notable jump in steel shipments by U.S. steel mills during May this year, when compared with the shipments during the same month a year before. Also, the May ’18 shipments stood higher when matched with the prior month. The steel mill shipments had recorded 5% year-on-year jump during April this year.

The shipments by U.S steel mills totaled 8.056 million net tons in May this year. The shipments increased sharply by 3.3% from the previous month. The U.S. steel mills had shipped 7.798 million net tons in April this year. Meantime, the May ’18 shipments were up by 5.2% over the previous year. The shipments had totaled only 7.661 million net tons in the same month last year. The cumulative steel mill shipments during the initial five-month period in 2018 totaled 39.316 million net tons, considerably higher by 4.2% when compared with the shipments of 37.722 million net tons during the first five months in 2017.

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Several products reported notable jump in shipment volume in May, upon comparison with the previous month. The biggest change was reported by hot rolled sheets, whose shipments surged higher by 6%. Hot dipped galvanized sheets and strip shipments recorded 3% jump over the previous month. The shipments of cold rolled sheets remained more or less unchanged during the month.

Meantime, the domestic raw steel production during the week ending July 7, 2018 totaled 1.792 million net tons. The capability utilization rate of US steel mills was 76.40% during the week. The weekly production was up by 3.4% over the previous year and was up marginally by 0.6% over the prior week. The year-to-date production through July 7, 2018 was up marginally by 2.9% from 46.571 million net tons in 2017 to 47.922 million net tons in 2018. The year-to-date capability utilization rate by the U.S. mills stood at 74.4%.