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 July totaled 3,574,000 net tons (NT).
This was a 31.0 percent increase from the 2,728,000 permit tons recorded in June and a 75.1 percent increase from the June final imports total of 2,041,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in July was 1,882,000, up 8.9 percent from the final imports total of 1,728,000 in June. For the first seven months of 2019 (including July SIMA permits and June final imports), total and finished steel imports were 19,213,000 NT and 13,575,000 NT, down 8.0 percent and 16.2 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2018. The estimated finished steel import market share in July was 19 percent and is 21 percent year-to-date (YTD).
Finished steel imports with large increases in July permits vs. June final imports included cut lengths plate (up 56 percent), line pipe (up 33 percent), plates in coils (up 28 percent), hot rolled bars (up 25 percent), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 22 percent), hot rolled sheets (up 18 percent), mechanical tubing (15 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 14 percent), wire rods (up 14 percent), and standard pipe (up 13 percent). Products with significant year-to date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2018 include black plate (up 64 percent), steel piling (up 43 percent) and tin free steel (up 19 percent).
In July, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for South Korea (202,000 NT, up 24 percent from June final), Japan (96,000 NT, down 15 percent), Taiwan (81,000 NT, down 6 percent), Germany (78,000 NT, down 22 percent) and Brazil (75,000 NT, up 391 percent). Through the first seven months of 2019, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,652,000 NT, down 15 percent from the same period last year), Japan (819,000 NT, down 6 percent) and Germany (694,000 NT, down 8 percent).
Published in the September 2019 Edition