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 2,804,000 net tons (NT). This was a 12.8 percent increase from the 2,485,000 permit tons recorded in May and a 20.8 percent increase from the May final imports total of 2,320,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in June was 2,111,000, up 12.8 percent from the final imports total of 1,872,000 in May. For the first six months of 2023 (including June SIMA permits and May final imports), total and finished steel imports were 15,017,000 NT and 11,573,000 NT, down 10.6 percent and 14.0 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2022. The estimated finished steel import market share in June was 24 percent and is 23 percent year-to-date (YTD).
Steel imports with large increases in June permits vs. May final imports
include reinforcing bars (up 189 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 89 percent), ingots and billets and slabs (up 55 percent), hot rolled sheets (up 48 percent) and line pipe (up 34 percent). Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2022 include standard rails (up 48 percent), oil country goods (up 36 percent), electrical sheet and strip (up 27 percent), cut lengths plates (up 24 percent) and line pipe (up 21 percent).
In June, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada (601,000 NT, down 4 percent from May final), South Korea (427,000 NT, up 95 percent), Mexico (423,000 NT, up 50 percent), Brazil (288,000 NT, up 20 percent) and China (108,000 NT, up 134 percent). Through the first six months of 2023, the largest suppliers were Canada (3,614,000 NT, up 1 percent), Mexico (2,331,000 NT, down 21 percent) and Brazil (1,946,000 NT, up 25 percent).