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.