U.S. Steel Shipments Continue Growth In June

U.S. steel producers shipped 51,924,000 net tons for the first six months of this year, a 4.8% increase from the 49,548,000 net tons shipped during the same period in 2002, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), a Washington, D.C., steel trade group. For the month of June, U.S. steel mills shipped 8,692,000 net tons, a 1.9% increase from the 8,532,000 net tons shipped in June 2002, and a 1.5% increase from the 8,567,000 net tons shipped in the previous month, May 2003. On a year-to-year comparison, shipments to these major markets had the following changes: service centers and distributors, up 3.6%; automotive, down 6.3%; construction and contractors' products, down 12.4%; oil and gas, up 8.9%; machinery, industrial equipment and tools, up 0.3%; appliances, utensils and cutlery, up 5.8%; containers, packaging and shipping materials, down 6.2%; and electrical equipment, down 11.3%.