Steel Shipments Slide

Reflecting the continued difficulties in the domestic steel industry, recent figures show steel shipments continue to plummet. For the first seven months of 2001, U.S. shipments were 59,153,000 net tons, down 10.8 percent from the same period in 2000 when 66,349,000 net tons were shipped, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported.

In July, U.S. steel mills shipped 8.1 million tons of steel, a 5.3 percent decrease from the 8,556 million tons shipped last July and a 6.7 percent decrease from the 8.691 million tons shipped in June 2001.

Reduced shipments and historically low prices through July continue to reflect the serious injury caused by steel imports. During the first seven months of the year the U.S. imported 13.446 million tons of finished steel.