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 June totaled 2,003,000 net tons (NT).
This was a 12.3 percent decrease from the 2,285,000 permit tons recorded in May and a 10.9 percent increase from the May final imports total of 1,806,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in June was 1,415,000, down 5.7 percent from the final imports total of 1,500,000 in May. For the first six months of 2020 (including June SIMA permits and May final imports), total and finished steel imports were 12,999,000 NT and 8,737,000 NT, down 16.9 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2019. The estimated finished steel import market share in June was 21 percent and is 19 percent year-to-date (YTD).
Finished steel imports with large increases in June permits vs. the May final imports included light shapes bars (up 77 percent), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 68 percent), cold finished bars (up 55 percent) and line pipe (up 39 percent). Products with significant year-to date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2019 include light shapes bars (up 25 percent) and tin free steel (up 20 percent).
In June, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for South Korea (211,000 NT, down 8 percent from May final), Brazil (86,000 NT, up 66 percent), Taiwan (72,000 NT, down 13 percent), Germany (72,000 NT, up 11 percent) and Japan (57,000 NT, down 44 percent). Through the first six months of 2020, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,148,000 NT, down 21 percent) and Japan (430,000 NT, down 41 percent).
Published in the August 2020 Edition