Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 1,494,000 net tons (NT) of steel in December 2020, including 1,340,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (up 9.0 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively, vs. November final data). Full year 2020 total and finished steel imports were 22,019,000 and 16,139,000 net tons (NT), down 21.2 percent and 23.3 percent, respectively, vs. 2019. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 18 percent in December and is estimated at 18 percent for full year 2020.
Key finished steel products with a significant increase in imports in December compared to November are line pipe (up 223 percent), oil country goods (up 148 percent), plates in coils (up 84 percent), hot rolled sheets (up 36 percent), hot rolled bars (up 15 percent), cold rolled sheets (up 14 percent) and tin plate (up 10 percent).
In December, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (222,000 NT, up 75 percent from November final), The Netherlands (86,000 NT, up 69 percent), Germany (66,000 NT, no change), Japan (56,000 NT, up 21 percent) and Taiwan (43,000 NT, up 1 percent).
For full year 2020, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (2,015,000 NT, down 22 percent vs. 2019), Japan (767,000 NT, down 38 percent), Germany (725,000 NT, down 31 percent), Taiwan (573,000 NT, down 31 percent) and Turkey (562,000 NT, up 72 percent).
Published in the March 2021 Edition