US steel shipments reach nearly three-year high in March: AISI

US steel shipments reach nearly three-year high in March: AISI
Published by:Alesha Alkaff<>
7 May 2025 @ 20:29 UTC

US steel mill shipments swung to their highest volume in nearly three years in March, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) released late on Tuesday May 6.Mills shipped 7.73 million net tons in March, up by 5.3% from 7.34 million tons shipped in March 2024 and by 9.8% from 7.04 million tons shipped in February, according to AISI.
Shipments were last higher in May 2022 at 7.91 million tons.
Cumulative shipments in the first three months of 2025 stood at 22.20 million tons, up by 1.7% from the 21.82 million tons shipped in the corresponding period of 2024, AISI data showed.
Year-to-date deliveries of hot-rolled sheet and strip were down by 1%, while deliveries of cold-rolled sheet increased by 1%, and shipments of corrosion-resistant sheet decreased by 2%.

The increase in shipments in March came alongside a surge in domestic steel prices, likely in part led by Section 232 tariffs imposed on steel imports during the month.
My company has been very busy. Customers are panic-buying and speculating on higher prices due to the announcement of tariffs, a distributor said in late February.
Fastmarkets’ steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US Midwest averaged $46.80 per hundredweight ($781.80 per short ton) in March, up by 16.01% from the average of $40.34 per cwt in February.
Prices of cold-rolled and corrosion-resistant sheets also increased significantly in March.
Fastmarkets’ assessment for steel cold-rolled coil, fob mill US averaged $57.25 per cwt in March, up by 15.08% from the average of $49.75 per cwt in February.
Similarly, the assessment for steel hot-dipped galvanized coil (cold-rolled base), fob mill US averaged $57.13 per cwt in March, up by 18.09% from the average of $48.38 per cwt in February.