U.S. Finished Steel Imports Saw Substantial Decline

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest news release published by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) points to substantial decline in total and finished steel imports by the country during the first four months of the current year.

The U.S. imported 11.489 million net tons of steel in Jan-Apr ’19, out of which 8.067 million net tons totaled finished steel. The imports of total and finished steel have declined by 7.8% and 17% respectively, when compared with 2018. The total and finished steel imports had totaled 12.455 million net tons and 9.714 million net tons respectively in Jan-Apr ’18.

In the month of April ’19 alone, the U.S. imported a total of 3.304 million net tons, including 2.011 million net tons of finished steel. The imports of total and finished steel surged higher by nearly 46% and 8% respectively, upon comparison with March ’19 final data. The finished steel import market share stood at 21% in April this year.

The finished steel products that recorded substantial increase in import volumes in April ’19, as compared with the prior month were wire rods, cut length plates and sheets & strip hot dipped galvanized. Wire rod imports skyrocketed by 108%, whereas the imports of cut length plates were up by 50%. A jump of 29% was reported by sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized imports, said AISI news release.

Meantime, the products with significant rise in import volumes during the initial four-month period of the year include wire rods (up 19%) and line pipe (up 18%).

Based on current trend, the annualized total and finished steel imports are likely to total 34.5 million net tons and 24.2 million net tons respectively in 2019.