Steel shipments decrease in April

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that for the month of April 2010, United States steel mills shipped 7,057,660 net tons, a 7.7 percent decrease from the 7,646,938 net tons shipped in the previous month, March 2010, and a 74.6 percent increase from the 4,042,457 net tons shipped in April 2009.

A month-to-month comparison of shipments shows the following changes: hot dipped galvanized sheet and strip, down 21 percent; hot rolled sheet, down 7 percent; and cold rolled sheet, down 7 percent. Oil Country Goods improved slightly from 177,405 in March to 189,857 in April, a 7 percent gain.