August U.S. Steel

Exports Surpass Imports

Manufacturing.Net reports that the American Institute for International Steel said the U.S. exported more steel than it imported in August, for the first time in more than 50 years. But another group said that assessment was based on a selective reading of government data.

Government data indicated U.S. steel exports totaled 800,000 tons, while imports amounted to 975,000 tons during the month. But the group, which advocates for free trade and opposes tariffs, subtracted imports of 156,000 tons of semi-finished steel and 30,000 tons of hot-rolled steel because that metal is turned into other steel mill products that are considered domestic, said the group’s president, David Phelps.

Phelps said in a statement that the August data reflected a “dramatic development” that “shows the increasing importance of U.S. exports of steel to international markets, which are returning to stronger levels of demand.”

But Nancy Gravatt, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute, said the group’s analysis was “puzzling” and “somewhat selective in terms of looking at the big picture.” Her group views the government data for August as showing a trade deficit of 175,000 net tons of steel for August.