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(AMM) Distributor shipments log rise in March: MSCI

April 17, 2009 - 21:19 GMT Location: CHICAGO

Shipments of steel and aluminum products by U.S. and Canadian service centers rose last month compared with February, although they were still down by double-digit percentages compared with March last year.

Steel shipments by U.S. distributors totaled nearly 2.59 million tons in March, up 7.4 percent from 2.41 million tons the previous month but down 39.2 percent from a little over 4.25 million tons a year ago, according to the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). First-quarter shipments of 7.6 million tons were down 41.8 percent from more than 13 million tons in the first three months of 2008.

In Canada, steel shipments jumped 15.7 percent to 445,600 tons in March from 385,100 tons in February but were down 25.5 percent from 598,500 tons in March 2008. First-quarter shipments of nearly 1.24...

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