Annual Finished Steel Imports to Dip by 7% in 2019
The imports of reinforcing bars are predicted to report biggest surge in import volumes during the current year.
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest report published by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) foresees significant decline in finished steel imports by the country during the current year. Going by import trends during the first five months of the year, AISI forecasts approximately 7% decline in yearly imports in 2019, when compared with the previous year.
According to AISI, the U.S. finished steel imports are likely to total 23.887 million net tons in 2019, lower by 7.0% when matched with the imports of 25.694 million NT during the previous year. Also, the total steel imports by the country are likely to witness a decline of nearly 3.3% from 33.731 million NT in 2018 to 32.602 million NT in 2019.
The imports of reinforcing bars are predicted to report biggest surge in import volumes during the current year. The imports of the above are likely to surge higher by 18% year-on-year. The other products that are likely to witness notable jump in imports are line pipes and ingots and billets and slabs, whose annualized imports are likely to surge higher by 14.8% and 8.6% respectively.
On the other hand, imports of several product categories are likely to witness sharp decline during the year. AISI predicts huge decline of almost 27% in imports of hot rolled sheets during the year. The imports of hot rolled bars and standard pipes are likely to drop by 20.7% and 18.2% respectively, upon comparison with the previous year.
The imports of finished steel mill products from Brazil are likely to surge higher by more than 50%. The imports from Italy, South Korea and Japan are likely to remain higher, whereas those from Germany, Taiwan and Vietnam are likely to witness notable declines.