The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) reported Tuesday that November service center shipments increased in November, but at slightly slower rates than in October. However, steel inventory levels declined in the US and Canada declined in November.
In the US, service centers shipped 3.3 million net tons (nt) of steel products in November--a 10.6 percent increase from November 2010--and year-to-date steel shipments totaled 37.8 million nt in November, reflecting a 15 percent gain from the same period in 2010. Steel product inventories were 8.1 million nt at the end of last month, an increase of 11.3 percent from November a year ago but a 3.3 percent decline from October. At the current shipping rate, this represents 2.5 months of supply-on-hand, an increase of 0.7 percent from a year ago.
Similarly, Canadian service center shipped 534,700 nt of steel products in November 2011. This represents an increase of 4.3 percent from November 2011. Through November 2011 year-to-date, steel shipments were 5.89 million nt--11 percent higher than the same period in 2010. Steel service center inventories were 1.3 million nt at the end of November, a 3.9 percent increase from November a year ago but a decrease of 9.4 percent from the previous month. At the current shipping rate, this represents 2.5 months of supply-on-hand, a decrease of 0.4 percent from a year ago.