US Preliminary Steel Imports plunged 18% in February

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that the U.S. imported a total of 3,584 ,000 net tons (NT) of steel in February 2015, including 2,832,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (down 18.4% and 20.7%, respectively, vs. January final data).

Year-to-date (YTD) total and finished steel imports are 7,977,000 and 6,405,000 net tons (NT), respectively, up 23% and 36% respectively, vs. the same period in 2014. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 32% in February.

Key finished steel products with a significant import increase in February compared to January are heavy structural shapes (up 46%), tin plate (up 18%) and sheet and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 12%).

The major products that recorded significant rise in import volumes year-to-date in comparison with the similar two-month period in 2014 include cut length plates (up 120%), line pipe (up 104%), heavy structural shapes (up 83%), cold rolled sheets (up 62%), standard pipe (up 55%), tin plate (up 42%), plates in coils (up 40%) and oil country goods (up 40%).

In February, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (481,000 NT, down 43% vs. January final), China (265,000 NT, up 34%), Turkey (235,000 NT, down 21%), Japan (211,000 NT, down 13%) and Germany (138,000 NT, down 10%).

The largest offshore suppliers for the initial two-month period of the year were South Korea (1,318,000 NT, up 60%), Turkey (533,000 NT, up 78%), China (462,000 NT, up 26%), Japan (452,000 NT, up 38%) and Brazil (297,000 NT, up 271%)

Courtesy: American Iron and Steel Institute