Steel exports increased in March by 19 percent over February according to government data. 'We believed that the low levels of exports in February could have been due to logistics disruptions related to weather in February and the shortness of the month, and so the return to healthier levels of exports in March seems to confirm that analysis. With the 12 percent rebound in exports to NAFTA, as well as even stronger growth in exports to other Western Hemisphere, 93 percent, and to Asia, 59 percent, it appears that the export business is back on track,' said David Phelps, president, AIIS.

'For the first three months of 2011 compared to 2010, exports continue to run at a 5 percent rate higher than in 2010, an indication that the recovery in the steel market continues in many of our customers' markets, to the benefit of our domestic industry suppliers, trading companies and port and logistics members,' concluded Phelps.

Total Steel exports in March 2011 were 1.132 million tons compared to 951 thousand tons in February 2011, a 19% increase, and a 1.7% decrease compared to March 2010. According to year-to-date figures, exports increased 5% compared to 2010 or from 2.99 million tons in 2010 to 3.14'million tons in 2011.