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 August totaled 2,214,000 net tons (NT). This was a 3.2 percent decrease from the 2,286,000 permit tons recorded in July and a 6.6 percent decrease from the July final imports total of 2,371,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in August was 1,802,000, down 1.7 percent from the final imports total of 1,832,000 in July. For the first eight months of 2023 (including August SIMA permits and July final imports), total and finished steel imports were 19,592,000 NT and 15,090,000 NT, down 10.9 percent and 15.3 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2022. The estimated finished steel import market share in August was 21 percent and is 22 percent year-to-date (YTD).
Steel imports with large increases in August permits vs. July final imports include sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 50 percent), standard pipe (up 39 percent), wire rods (up 32 percent), cut lengths plates (up 28 percent) and hot rolled sheets (up 17 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 20 percent), oil country goods (up 17 percent), line pipe (up 17 percent) and electrical sheet and strip (up 12 percent).
In August, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada (535,000 NT, up 1 percent from July final), Mexico (356,000 NT, up 23 percent), South Korea (234,000 NT, up 48 percent), Brazil (211,000 NT, down 45 percent) and Vietnam (84,000 NT, up 65 percent). Through the first eight months of 2023, the largest suppliers were Canada (4,707,000 NT, no change), Mexico (2,971,000 NT, down 24 percent) and Brazil (2,673,000 NT, up 35 percent).