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 March totaled 2,314,000 net tons (NT). This was a 5.5 percent increase from the 2,193,000 permit tons recorded in February and a 3.3 percent increase from the February final imports total of 2,240,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in March was 1,638,000, up 0.8 percent from the final imports total of 1,625,000 in February. For the first three months of 2025 (including March SIMA permits and February final imports), total and finished steel imports were 7,625,000 NT and 5,571,000 NT, up 1.2 percent and down 1.6 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2024. The estimated finished steel import market share in March was 19 percent and is 22 percent year-to-date (YTD).
Steel imports with large increases in March permits vs. February final imports include reinforcing bars (up 62 percent), tin free steel (up 56 percent), oil country goods (up 38 percent), sheets and strip all other metallic coated (up 33 percent) and structural pipe and tubing (up 29 percent). Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2024 include tin plate (up 94 percent), line pipe (up 36 percent), wire rods (up 29 percent), reinforcing bars (up 19 percent) and heavy structural shapes (up 18 percent).
In March, the largest steel import permit applications were for Brazil (446,000 NT, unchanged from February final), Canada (396,000 NT, down 18 percent), Mexico (350,000 NT, up 25 percent), South Korea (246,000 NT, up 27 percent) and Taiwan (123,000 NT, up 52 percent). Through the first three months of 2025, the largest suppliers were Canada (1,526,000 NT, down 13 percent), Brazil (1,477,000 NT, up 8 percent) and Mexico (1,101,000 NT, up 9 percent).
Published May 2025
