U.S. Steel says it continues to lose money because demand for its products remains weak due to the uneven global economic recovery.

The Pittsburgh manufacturing giant reported a third-quarter loss of $51 million. Steel shipments fell, as did production.

The quarterly loss amounted to 35 cents per share. A year ago, U.S. Steel had a loss of $303 million, or $2.11 a share. Sales jumped 60 percent to $4.5 billion from a year ago, although they slipped 4 percent from this year's second quarter.

U.S. Steel, which sells steel for use in autos, appliances and other products, hasn't posted a profit since the final three months of 2008.