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 October totaled 2,123,000 net tons (NT). This was an 8.5 percent decrease from the 2,319,000 permit tons recorded in September and a 3.0 percent decrease from the September final imports total of 2,189,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in October was 1,757,000, up 11.2 percent from the final imports total of 1,580,000 in September. For the first ten months of 2023 (including October SIMA permits and September final imports), total and finished steel imports were 23,969,000 NT and 18,485,000 NT, down 10.0 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2022. The estimated finished steel import market share in October was 19 percent and is 22 percent year-to-date (YTD).
Steel imports with large increases in October permits vs. September final imports include standard rail (up 11,752 percent), tin plate (up 92 percent), wire rods (up 70 percent), oil country goods (up 49 percent) and hot rolled bars (up 41 percent). Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2022 include standard rails (up 49 percent) and cut length plates (up 22 percent).
In October, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada (528,000 NT, down 2 percent from September final), Mexico (304,000 NT, down 15 percent), Brazil (169,000 NT, down 63 percent), South Korea (146,000 NT, down 56 percent) and Japan (134,000 NT, up 101 percent). Through the first ten months of 2023, the largest suppliers were Canada (5,783,000 NT, down 1 percent), Mexico (3,642,000 NT, down 22 percent) and Brazil (3,292,000 NT, up 39 percent).