February steel shipments down 4.9 percent from previous year

Washington DC— The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that for the month of February 2005, U.S. steel mills shipped 8,661,000 net tons, a 4.9 percent decrease from the 9,104,000 net tons shipped in February 2004, and a 1.5 percent decrease from the 8,791,000 net tons shipped in the previous month, January 2005.

A year-to-year comparison of year to date shipments shows the following changes within major market classifications: service centers and distributors, down 3.2 percent; automotive, up 1.9 percent; construction and contractors’ products, down 7.2 percent; oil and gas, up 14.4 percent; machinery, industrial equipment and tools, down 0.1 percent; appliances, utensils and cutlery, down 3.9 percent; containers, packaging and shipping materials, down 10.4 percent; and electrical equipment, down 4.3 percent.