US steel mill shipments rise nearly 20 percent in October

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Tuesday that US steel mills shipped 7.9 million net tons (nt) of steel products in October, a 0.2 percent drop from September shipments but a 19.7 percent surge from the 6.6 million nt shipped in October 2010.

Through October year-to-date, steel mill shipments totaled 76.4 million nt, a 9.4 percent increase versus 2010 shipments of 69.8 million nt for the first ten months of 2011. Notably, hot rolled sheet shipments were down 6 percent from September to October, while cold rolled sheet shipments rose 3 percent and hot dipped galvanized sheet shipments edged up 1 percent.