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 May totaled 2,377,000 net tons (NT). This was a 4.9 percent increase from the 2,266,000 permit tons recorded in April and a 14.5 percent increase from the April final imports total of 2,077,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in May was 1,746,000, up 8.4 percent from the final imports total of 1,611,000 in April. For the first five months of 2025 (including May SIMA permits and April final imports), total and finished steel imports were 12,267,000 NT and 9,113,000 NT, down 7.0 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2024. The estimated finished steel import market share in May was 20 percent and is 21 percent year-to-date (YTD).
Steel imports with large increases in May permits vs. April final imports include plates in coils (up 50 percent), hot rolled sheets (up 44 percent), sheets and strip all other metallic coating (up 38 percent), blooms, billets and slabs (up 36 percent) and reinforcing bars (up 24 percent). Products with significant YTD increases vs. the same period in 2024 include tin plate (up 77 percent), stainless pipe and tube (up 62 percent), line pipe (up 35 percent), oil country goods (up 13 percent) and wire rods (up 11 percent).
In May, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada (382,000 NT, down 12 percent from April final), Brazil (346,000 NT, up 16 percent), Mexico (276,000 NT, up 77 percent), South Korea (266,000 NT, up 44 percent) and Germany (112,000 NT, down 7 percent). Through the first five months of 2025, the largest suppliers were Canada (2,439,000 NT, down 17 percent), Brazil (2,106,000 NT, down 5 percent) and Mexico (1,572,000 NT, down 10 percent).
Published July 2025
