The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) announced Thursday that exports declined by 9.3 percent in April from March. AIIS President David Phelps said, "Softening shipments to the NAFTA region led the decline in April, although there was some good news as non-NAFTA Western Hemisphere shipment rose, mostly due to a jump in semi-finished exports to the Dominican Republic over March."
Total steel exports in April 2011 were 1.026 million net tons compared to 1.132 million net tons in March 2011, a 9.3 percent decrease, and an 8.8 percent decrease over April 2010. Year-to-date figures also indicate that exports rose 1.2 percent compared to the same period in 2010.
Phelps also said that "exports to the NAFTA region declined in the first four months of 2011 compared to 2010, but that decline was offset by an increase in exports to Asia, including a sold increase in exports to China and Taiwan."