Metal Shipment and Inventory Rise Again in September 2010
10/19/2010 - Very little change occurred in North American metals service center shipment and inventory trends in September, according to the latest Metals Activity Report from the Metals Service Center Institute. Sequential steel inventories rose slightly in both the United States and Canada.
Very little change occurred in North American metals service center shipment and inventory trends in September, according to the latest Metals Activity Report from the Metals Service Center Institute. Sequential steel inventories rose slightly in both the United States and Canada.
September steel shipments from U.S.-based metals service centers totaled 3.17 million tons, up 23.9% from the same month last year. For the first nine months of the year, total U.S. steel shipments of 26.8 million tons are 19.8% above those for the 2009 period. Steel product inventories at the end of September of 7.53 million tons are 30% above last year’s stockpiles. This volume represents a 2.4-month supply at current shipping rates.
In Canada, metals service centers shipped 505,600 tons of steel in September, up 11.1% from the same month last year. Shipments for the first nine months of the year of 4.29 million tons were 15.0% above those for the same period last year. Month-end Canadian steel inventories of 1.32 million tons were 37.4% above stocks at the end of September 2009. At current shipping rates, that is equal to a 2.6-month supply.
September shipments of aluminum products from U.S.-based metals service centers totaled 118,400 tons, or 36.9% more than shipments of a year ago. Aluminum shipments of 978,800 tons for the first nine months of the year are 24.4% higher than those of the 2009 period. Stocks of aluminum products at the end of September of 327,800 tons were 28.7% above last year’s inventories and equal to a 2.8-month supply at current shipping rates.
Canadian metals service centers shipped 12,200 tons of aluminum products during September, or 9.5% more than a year ago. For the first nine months of the year, Canadian aluminum shipments rose 6.0% to 102,000 tons. Aluminum inventories totaled 31,400 tons at the end of September, 9.2% more than a year ago. This volume is equal to a 2.6-month supply at current shipping rates.
The Metals Activity Report (MAR), based on data from metals service centers in the United States and Canada, is produced by the Metals Service Center Institute and a third-party econometrics and strategy firm, McCoy, Scott & Co.
Founded in 1909, the Metals Service Center Institute has more than 360 members operating from about 1200 locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere in the world. Together, MSCI members constitute the largest single group of metals purchasers in North America, amounting each year to more than 55 million tons of steel, aluminum, and other metals, with about 300,000 manufacturers and fabricators as customers. MSCI’s membership also includes almost all ferrous and non-ferrous industrial metals producers in North America. Metals service centers inventory and distribute metals and provide first-stage fabrication services.
