U.S. Steel Import Permits Slump 15% in November

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported huge decline in steel import permit applications for the month of November this year.

Based on the latest Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data published by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the applications totaled 2.544 million net tons (NT) during the month, sharply down by 15.4% when compared with the prior month. The October 2018 permits had totaled 3.007 million NT. The permit applications for finished steel totaled 1.920 million NT, modestly down by 3.6% from the preliminary imports of 1.991 million NT during the prior month.

The cumulative steel imports by the U.S. during the initial eleven months of the year totaled 31.979 million NT, whereas the finished steel imports totaled 24.002 million NT. The above figures are inclusive of preliminary data for Oct ’18 and SIMA data for Nov ’18. The total and finished steel imports recorded decline by 10.4% and 13.3% respectively.

The SIMA data for November 2018 suggests notable surge in imports of electrolytic galvanized sheets and strip, whose imports skyrocketed by 224%. Also, wire rods and heavy structural shapes import permits were up sharply by 86% and 62% respectively. The permit applications for finished steel imports from Taiwan and Japan surged higher significantly by 36% and 35% respectively, upon comparison with the prior month. The largest offshore suppliers during Jan-Nov ’18 were South Korea and Japan.