Economy
December 9, 2021
Steel Product Shipments and Inventories Through October
Written by David Schollaert
U.S. steel product shipments rose for a sixth straight month in October, expanding by 1.7% versus the prior month. The pace of growth has been steady over the past few months. Steel product shipments have grown at a rate just under 2.0% month on month since July and keeping a steady upward trend since May.
New orders for steel production outpaced steel shipments in October, maintaining a trend seen for much of the year. The dynamic highlights the strong downstream demand the steel industry has seen since nearly coming to a halt at the onset of the pandemic, roughly 19 months ago. The trend is also in line with mill outages, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and other factors that continue to impact the steel and manufacturing industries.
