April 2011 steel shipments down 9.3 percent from March 2011

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that for the month of April 2011, United States steel mills shipped 7,258,534 net tons, a 9.3 percent decrease from the 8,006,016 net tons shipped in the previous month, March 2011, and a 2.8 percent increase from the 7,057,660 net tons shipped in April 2010.

Shipments year-to-date in 2011 are 29,760,685 a 7.8 percent increase vs. 2010 shipments of 27,575,482 for four months.

A month-to-month comparison of shipments shows the following changes: hot dipped galvanized sheet and strip, down 6 percent, hot rolled sheet, down 11 percent, and cold rolled sheet, down 15 percent.