The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Wednesday that for the month of April 2012, US steel mills shipped 8,245,339 net tons (nt), a 3.1 percent decrease from the 8,512,825 nt shipped in the previous month, and a 13.6 percent increase from the 7,258,534 net tons shipped in April 2011. Shipments year-to-date in 2012 are 33,663,439 a 13.1 percent increase versus 2011 shipments of 29,760,685 for four months.
A month-to-month comparison of shipments shows the following changes: hot rolled sheet, up 1 percent; hot dipped galvanized sheets and strip, down 2 percent; and cold rolled sheet, down 3 percent.