Metals service centers in the U.S. increased their shipments of steel and aluminum during August, and posted improvements in their inventory positions, too. Meanwhile, in Canada, service centers’ deliveries declined at a somewhat reduced rate. The figures are drawn from the Metals Service Center Institute’s monthly Metals Activity Report, which details shipment and inventory totals for steel and aluminum at service centers across North America.
Service center shipments correspond to a substantial volume of the metals consumed by machine shops and fabricators, and the activities at those operations are a reflection of industrial activity in the North America.
U.S. service centers shipped 3.34 million tons of steel products during August, 15.7% more than during July and 2.1% more than during August 2015. The daily shipping rate increased by one ton (to 146.9 tons/day) from the July report, and the year-to-date steel shipments total rose to 25.7 million tons – a figure that is 6.9% lower than the eight-month total for 2015.
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