The Metals Activity Report (MAR), from the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI), has reported that shipments of steel from metals service centers in the United States and Canada declined in year-over-year comparisons during September, while US steel inventories rose slightly from last year levels.
September shipments of steel products from US metals service centers totaled nearly 3.73 million net ton (nt), a decrease of 7.6 percent from September 2007. Year-to-date US shipments totaled about 38.08 million nt, down 5.4 percent from last year.
In September, US steel products inventories totaled 10.66 million nt, a 0.9 percent increase over year-ago levels. According to current shipping rates, this currently represents about a 2.9-month supply. Even though US steel inventories slightly rose year-over-year in September, the MSCI explains, "Service centers responded to the deteriorating market conditions by reducing total inventories from August levels to bring supply in line with weaker demand."
Meanwhile, Canadian service center steel shipments totaled 534,100 nt in September, a decrease of 10.6 percent from September 2007. Year-to-date shipments totaled about 5.36 million nt, down 6.4 percent from last year.
Canadian steel inventories totaled about 1.45 million nt at the end of September, down 14.9 percent from year-ago levels. At current shipping rates, this represents a 2.7 month supply.