The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Friday that US steel mills shipped 8,085,761 net tons (nt) of steel products in December 2011, compared to 7,404,828 nt in November--an increase of 9.2 percent. Year-on-year, December's steel mill shipments registered a 13.7 percent from the 7,111,031 nt shipped in December 2010. Shipments for 2011 are 91,865,449, reflecting an increase of 10.1 percent versus. 2010 full year shipments of 83,443,836.
A month-to-month comparison of shipments indicates that hot rolled sheet shipments jumped 15 percent; hot dipped galvanized sheets and strip and cold rolled sheet shipments both rose 2 percent from November.