US Import of steel mill products drop considerably during March

Steel News  |  2013-05-15 08:00:50   |   By

The latest statistics released by the Steel Import Monitoring And Analysis (SIMA), US Department of Commerce shows that the US imports of steel mill products dropped during the month of March

WASHINGTON (Scrap Monster) : The latest statistics released by the Steel Import Monitoring And Analysis (SIMA), US Department of Commerce shows that the US imports of steel mill products dropped during the month of March.

According to the report, March 2013 US steel imports are 16.2% below the volume in March 2012. Also March 2013 steel imports are 7.9% below the 2012 average monthly volume of 2.5 million metric tons.

U.S. steel imports from China decreased 5.8% from February to March 2013. March 2013 imports from China are 25.5% above the volume in March 2012, 1.8% below the 2012 average, and 31% below the recent high in June 2012.March 2013 imports from China represent 5.3% of all U.S. steel imports, below the 5.8% share in February 2013 but well above the 3.5% share one year ago.

U.S. imports of steel mill products have fluctuated in the past few years, while exports have remained relatively stable. In March 2013, the steel trade deficit held steady at -1.3 million metric tons, only 0.05% less than the deficit in February 2013. o Compared to the trade balance one year ago, the March 2013 steel trade gap narrowed 21.1%. From February to March 2013, the volume of exports and imports increased 6.1% and 2.5%, respectively. March 2013 exports are 8.6% below than the volume in March 2012, while March 2013 imports are 16.2% below the level a year ago. Exports and imports are still below the three-year highs in May 2012 and April 2012, respectively.

U.S. domestic capacity utilization has maintained steady gains over a historic dip. In March 2013, capacity utilization was estimated at 76.2%. Compared to one year ago, capacity utilization decreased 4.3% in March 2013. Capacity utilization in March 2013 was roughly 4.1% above the rate in March 2010 and 15.1% below the utilization rate in March 2008.Though capacity utilization has increased 86.8% from the eight year low in April 2009, it still remains below the historical averages.