Total steel exports in December 2009 were 929,000 tons compared to 935,000 tons in November 2009, which, although reflecting a 0.7 percent decrease, shows a 29.8 percent increase compared to December 2008. According to year-to-date figures, exports decreased 31.1 percent compared to 2008, from 13.5 million tons in 2008 to 9.3 million tons in 2009.
"While exports declined slightly in December compared to November, the reduction was primarily due to lower shipments to NAFTA markets, while other markets remained strong, such as shipments to Asian markets which, although still a modest fraction of total US steel exports, increased by over 60 percent month-on-month," said AIIS president David Phelps. "Exports to non-NAFTA Western Hemisphere markets also declined in December, down 21.8 percent month-on-month,"
Exports of steel mill products in 2009 contributed a positive $10.5 billion to the US' balance of trade in 2009. "While the tonnages for 2009 were down from the heady days of 2008 due to the recession that affected many of our trading partners, exports to many markets/countries remained strong through the year, such as Africa, which bought 23.8 percent more American made steel in 2009 than in 2008 and the Dominican Republic, which increased its purchases by 179 percent year over-year. It is not yet the absolute quantity exported to this region that is especially noteworthy, but the rate at which this volume is being expanded by U.S. steelmakers and exporters."