According to the statistics released by the South African Iron and Steel Institute (SAISI), South African domestic carbon steel sales rose to 1.55 million mt during the third quarter of 2008, up 17.7 percent from the same period a year ago, and up 2.1 percent compared to the second quarter of 2008.
Sales of carbon steel flat products during the first three quarters of 2008 rose 9.5 percent year on year, whereas sales of profile products increased by 10.9 percent, resulting in a total increase of 10.2 percent year on year for the January to September period.
Meanwhile, imports of carbon and alloy steel products (excluding semis, wire and stainless steel, but including rails) increased by 7.5 percent during the second quarter of 2008, compared with the corresponding period of 2007, while imports during the second quarter of 2008 increased by 14.1 percent compared with imports during the first quarter of 2008.
Finally, third quarter exports of primary carbon steel products from South Africa dropped 38 percent year on year to 0.31 million mt.