U.S. steel exports continue downward spiral in July

Steel shipments continued to drop in July, according to the American Institute for International Steel.    U.S. steel exports continued to drop in July, falling 3.3 percent to just more than 1 million net tons, according to the American Institute for International Steel.
   Exports to Canada remained about the same for July as in June, at 536,892 net tons, and the amount of steel sent to Mexico increased 7.4 percent to 366,732 net tons. Both Canada and Mexico remain the United States’ largest export markets for steel.
   However, shipments to smaller trading partners were down. Brazil accounted for more than 40 percent of the overall decrease, with steel exports to that country falling 73 percent to 5,406 net tons. About 26,664 net tons of U.S. steel in July, 6.3 percent less than a month earlier, were shipped to the European Union. 
   “Steel exports to most countries were also substantially lower than they were in July 2013, though Mexico was up 3.8 percent from a year earlier,” AIIS said.
   For the first seven months of the year, AIIS noted U.S. steel exports fell 6.6 percent from the same period in 2013 to 7.07 million net tons. Canada was down 5 percent to 3.77 million net tons, while Mexico was up 2.7 percent to 2.42 million net tons. Year-to-date exports to the European Union decreased 17.4 percent to 198,900 net tons.
   “One of the few countries that has been buying more American steel this year is Russia, with 2014 exports to that nation increasing 124 percent to 12,346 net tons. That trend took a hit in July, though, as exports to Russia dipped 90 percent from 6.092 net tons in June to 595 net tons in July,” the trade association said.