Olympic Steel expects steel shipments down in 4Q

US steel service center Olympic Steel expects its fourth quarter shipments will fall lower than the prior year.

Fourth quarter shipments are estimated to be between 229,000-231,000st, a decline of 11-12pc compared to the 259,000st it shipped in the same period of 2018. The Ohio-based company shipped 249,000st in the third quarter.

The company said weak demand in October will outweigh a recent pickup in the market as steel mills in the US make a push to increase hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices by $80/st, prompting steel service centers that were not buying back onto the market to fill inventories with lower-priced product.

Third quarter steel shipments fell by 12pc to 249,000st over the prior year, while shipments of specialty metals products rose by 4.3pc to 38,000st.

Year-to-date steel shipments fell by 11pc to 789,000st compared to the prior year, while specialty metal product shipments rose by 11pc to 111,000st.

Olympic Steel's third quarter income shrank to $591,000, down from the $11.6mn it made in the prior year period.