Steel import permit applications estimated at 20 percent

Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that steel import permit applications for the month of September totaled 2,289,000 net tons (NT). This was a 0.7 percent increase from the 2,272,000 permit tons recorded in August and a 0.5 percent increase from the August final imports toUS_steel_Mill_By_Countries_Nov_23tal of 2,279,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in September was 1,659,000, down 10.8 percent from the final imports total of 1,860,000 in August. For the first 9 months of 2023 (including September SIMA permits and August final imports), total and finished steel imports were 21,946,000 NT and 16,807,000 NT, down 9.4 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2022. The estimated finished steel import market share in September was 20 percent and is 22 percent year-to-date (YTD).

Steel imports with large increases in September permits vs. August final imports include black plate (up 70 percent), hot rolled sheets (up 52 percent), ingots and billets and slabs (up 50 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 18 percent) and stainless pipe and tube (up 18 percent). Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2022 include cut lengths plates (up 24 percent), standard rails (up 16 percent), ingots and billets and slabs (up 13 percent), oil country goods (up 11 percent) and line pipe (up 10 percent).

In September, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada (526,000 NT, down 4 percent from August final), Brazil (451,000 NT, up 116 percent), Mexico (354,000 NT, down 3 percent), South Korea (338,000 NT, up 33 percent) and Japan (73,000 NT, down 23 percent). Through the first nine months of 2023, the largest suppliers were Canada (5,245,000 NT, no change), Mexico (3,334,000 NT, down 21 percent) and Brazil (3,122,000 NT, up 44 percent).