Steel shipments from US mills fell by 22pc in June to 6.02mn nt (5.46mn mt), from 7.71mn nt shipped during the same month last year, according to American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data.
Steel shipments also declined by 14.5pc in the first six months of 2020 to 41.22mn nt, from 48.22mn nt in H1 2019. However, they rose by 10.3pc from 5.46mn nt shipped in May 2020, as more steel mills restarted operations after COVID-19 related lockdowns.
Compared with May, steel shipments for hot-dipped galvanized sheet and strip steel increased by 33pc in June, while cold-rolled steel shipments inclined 14pc, according to AISI data. Hot rolled steel shipments also went up by 12pc from May to June 2020, the association indicated without disclosing the actual volumes for the products.