September steel shipments down

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that for the month of September 2008, United States steel mills shipped 7,920,000 net tons, a 6.8 percent decrease from the 8,492,000 net tons shipped in September 2007 and a 10.7 percent decrease from August 2008.

A year-to-year comparison of year-to-date shipments shows the following changes: Service centers and distributors, up 5.6 percent; automotive, down 4.4 percent; construction and contractors’ products, down 2.9 percent; and oil and gas, up 4.9 percent.