Shipments from U.S. steel mills and U.S. exports and imports of steel increased in January from December as market demand improved from the last month of 2009.
U.S. steel mills shipped about 6.6 million tons of product in January, up 9 percent from December, the American Iron and Steel Institute said.
Shipments of hot dipped galvanized sheet and strip were up 23 percent in January from a month earlier. Cold rolled sheet and hot rolled sheet were up 14 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
The January total is up 43.8 percent from the 4.6 million tons shipped in January 2009.
Preliminary January steel imports were 1.5 million metric tons (1.7 million tons) compared to December totals of 1.3 million metric tons (1.4 million tons), the U.S. Census Bureau said. The value of imports in January was $1.4 billion, up from $1.3 billion in December.
The January change reflected increases in blooms, billets, slabs and oil country tubular goods, according to the Census Bureau.
January steel exports increased 39.7 percent to 951,390 tons compared to the same month in 2009.
Exports in January are up 2.4 percent from December.
David Phelps, president of the American Institute for International Steel, said the increases are the result of improved demand in Canada and Mexico.
Shipments of steel from U.S. metals centers stood at 2.6 million tons in January, down 0.9 percent from January 2009. Inventories stood at 6.3 million tons, 26.2 percent lower than January 2009. The Metals Service Center Institute called the 2.4-month supply of product available "lean."
The U.S. imported about 14.7 million metric tons of steel in 2009, compared with 29 million metric tons in 2008.
Blooms, billets, and slabs and oil country tubular goods suffered the largest decreases and imports from China and Canada shrunk the most.
The U.S. exported about 9.3 million tons of steel in 2009, compared with 13.5 million tons in 2008. Exports declined sharply to countries including Colombia, Brazil, Japan and the United Arab Emirates.
Exports to Africa in 2009 saw a nearly 24 percent increase year-over-year.
