U.S. Finished Steel Imports Down 16%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The latest news release by the American iron and Steel Institute (AISI) says that finished steel imports by the country recorded sharp decline by nearly 17% in the first ten-month period of the current year. The total steel imports by the country were down by almost 16%. The Jan-Oct ’19 total and finished steel imports totalled 24.770 million net tons and 18.343 million net tons respectively.

During the month of October, the U.S. imported a total of 2.177 million net tons of steel, significantly higher when matched with the Sep ’19 final imports data. Meantime, the monthly finished steel imports by the country were down marginally by 3.5% at 1.479 million net tons. The finished steel import market share was estimated at 17% during the month.

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The imports of wire rods recorded highest jump, surging by 24% when compared to the prior month. Plates in coils, sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized and mechanical tubing import volumes were each up by 13%. The imports of heavy structural shapes too recorded 12% increase, month-on-month. The largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea, followed by Germany and Japan.

The AISI estimates the annualized total steel imports at 29.7 million net tons in 2019, lower by 11.9% from 2018. Also, finished steel imports are likely to decline by over 14% from 2018 to around 22.0 million net tons during the current year.