[Toddsterpatriot]

You need to consider change in inventory. There's lots of steel lying on the ground awaiting purchase sometimes, because it is cheaper to keep on making it than to scale back operations.

I agree. The thing is, with the chart provided, there doesn't appear to be any draw down of that inventory. Every year the apparent consumption is 7-10 million tons (or more) less than production+imports-exports.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

Perhaps this is like the mysterous 2-3 million people who deplane in the US versus those who enplane to leave for overseas.

Every year for decades, 2-3 million more people have gotten off international flights than have departed on them.