The Metals Activity Report from the Metals Service Centre Institute shows that inventories of steel products at metals service centers in the United States and Canada rose slightly in December as shipments of those products declined seasonally.
Final 2009 shipment numbers demonstrate how significantly the recession impacted the industrial metals industry. But, for the first time in more than a year, the monthly rate of decline in steel shipments moved into the single digits in the United States and was flat in Canada.
December shipments of steel products from US metals service centers totaled 2.24 million tons, down by 5.5% YoY. In all, 2009 steel product shipments totaled nearly 29.6 million tons, down by 36.8% YoY. Year end steel inventories totaled 6.14 million tons, down by 29% YoY. At current shipping rates, that stockpile equaled a 2.7 month supply.
Canadian service center steel shipments totaled 322,400 tons in December, identical to shipments in December 2009. Canadian steel shipments for all of 2009 were down by 26.4% YoY, to 4.92 million tons. Canadian service center steel inventories at the end of December were 1.04 million tons, or 10.5% lower than a year ago and equal, at current shipping rates, to a 3.2 month supply.
Founded in 1909, the Metals Service Center Institute has more than 375 members operating from about 1,200 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.