US service centers shipped 7.5% fewer steel products in 2015 than in 2014, and the Metals Service Center Institute reported that service centers carried three months of supply at the end of the year.
Service centers shipped 39.86 million st of steel products in 2015, down 7.5% from 43.11 million st in 2014.
At the end of December, US service centers carried 8.3 million st of steel -- three months supply based on the current shipping level. In December, service centers shipped 2.78 million st of steel.
Inventory levels at the end of December were the lowest of the year and 16.2% below the inventory position held at the end of 2014.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Timna Tanners said a report noted that even though the inventory-to-supply ratios were at three months in November and December, December supply on hand was below the average December level of 3.2 months that began in 1987.
"We think the less-weak-than-normal December data are positive signals for the US market," Tanners said in the research note.
Flat-rolled steel shipments in December fell 9.7% from the same month a year ago and 12.2% from November on a days-adjusted basis, while inventories slid 2.9% from November, according to Tanners.
Overall steel inventories in December fell 2.9% from November as well, but tubular product inventories notably slid 5.1% from November.
December inventories at Canadian service centers rose about 1% to finish the year with 1.3 million st of steel products in stock, 21.7% below the December 2014 level, but representing 4.3 months of supply at the current shipping rate.
Service centers shipped 302,700 st of steel products in December, down 19.2% year on year and 24.3% month on month.
Canadian service centers shipped 5.15 million st of steel in 2015, down about 10% from the 2014 shipment total of 5.71 million st.
