U.S. steel exports fall in September

The United States exported 811,584 net tons of steel in September and 7.75 million net tons of steel during the first nine months of 2015, down 21.5 percent and 15.3 percent year-over-year, respectively.    The United States exported 811,584 net tons of steel in September, a 1.8 percent decline from August and a 21.5 percent drop from Sept. 2014, according to the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS).
   During the first nine months of 2015, the United States exported 7.75 million net tons of steel, a 15.3 percent decline from the corresponding period in 2014, which primarily resulted from a decrease in tonnage to Canada.
   Nearly half of all U.S. steel exports are destined for Canada, which has struggled economically this year.
   The United States exported 393,326 net tons of steel to Canada in September, nearly a 30 percent decline from September 2014. For the first nine months of 2015, the country exported 3.77 million net tons of steel to Canada, a 23 percent drop from the corresponding period last year.
   U.S. steel exports to Mexico stood at 330,025 net tons in September and 2.99 million net tons during the first nine months of 2015, down 6.5 percent and 4.5 percent year-over-year, respectively.
   The United States exported 24,247 net tons of steel to the European Union in September and 273,634 net tons of steel to the European Union during the first nine months of 2015, up 2.8 percent and 8 percent year-over-year, respectively.
   “Canada’s economy has shown some signs of life in recent months, posting monthly growth of 0.4 percent in June, 0.3 percent in July and 0.1 percent in August that followed several months of negative growth in the spring,” AIIS said. “Economists are expecting third quarter growth to come in at an annualized rate of 2.5 percent, which would be the country’s strongest economic performance in a year. But while Canada’s GDP numbers have at least returned to the black, long-term growth projections remain unimpressive, in part because of low energy prices.