Steel Products Prices North America
April 8, 2014
U.S. Steel Exports Show Mixed to Disappointing February Results
Written by Brett Linton
The American Institute for International Steel reported “February 2014 showed mixed to disappointing results for U.S. steel exports.” The following report is from an AIIS press release regarding exports of steel out of the domestic (US) mills during the month of February. Key to the data is NAFTA exports which, according to the AIIS, represent three-quarters of total steel exports out of the U.S. Here is the AIIS report:
A weaker result in February over January was particularly evident with respect to NAFTA exports, which represents about three-quarters of total U.S. steel exports. We saw a 9 percent drop in U.S. steel exports to Canada, and an almost identical 9.3 percent drop in U.S. steel exports to Mexico. One likely explanation is that by most accounts, during the mid-January through February time period, there was less steel moving in North America during one of the harshest winters the Midwest has seen in many years. In contrast, February over January U.S. steel exports to the EU did show a healthy gain of 13.3 percent, although February 2014 exports to the EU were down by nearly 25 percent compared to February 2013.
