The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that for the month of October 2006, steel mills in the United States shipped 8,725,000 nt of steel, a 1.3 percent decrease from the 8,839.000 nt shipped in October 2005, and a 5.1 percent decrease from the 9,199,000 nt shipped in the previous month, September 2006.
However, when looking at year-to-date (YTD) shipments, the amount of steel shipped to some major markets are up in 2006 compared to 2005.
The following changes in shipments from major market classifications took place when comparing YTD shipments as of October 2006 with YTD shipments as of October 2005: service centers and distributors, up 4.2 percent;
automotive, up 10.2 percent;
construction and contractors products, up 12.0 percent; oil and gas, up 11.5 percent; machinery and industrial equipment/tools, up 6.4 percent; appliances, utensils and cutlery, down 5.0 percent; containers, packaging and shipping materials, up 2.8 percent; and electrical equipment, up 19.3 percent.