The Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) announced Tuesday that shipments in the US and Canada for steel continued to increase in October. Inventory-to-sales ratios remained stable for steel in both the US and Canada.
October shipments of steel products from US service centers totaled about 3.03 million net tons (nt), down from 3.17 million nt in September, and 15.8 percent more than during the same month in 2009. Shipments for the first 10 months of the year of about 29.9 million nt were 19.4 percent higher than during the same period last year. At the end of October, steel inventories at US service centers of 7.42 million nt were 25.1 percent larger than in October 2009 and, at current shipping rates, equal to a 2.4-month supply, unchanged from September.
In Canada, October steel shipments from metals service centers totaled 481,600 nt, down almost 5 percent from 505,600 nt shipped in September, but 11.6 percent more than a year ago. Shipments for the first 10 months of the year of 4.77 million nt were 14.7 percent above those for the 2009 period. Month-end inventories of 1.33 million tons were 37.2 percent above those at the same time last year and, at current shipping rates, equal to a 2.8-month supply, up from a 2.6-month supply in September.