Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 2,018,000 net tons (NT) of steel in November 2023, including 1,487,000 NT of finished steel (down 8.1 percent and up 19.7 percent, respectively, vs. October 2023). Total and finished steel imports are down 9.0 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively, year-to-date vs. 2022. Over the 12-month period December 2022 to November 2023, total and finished steel imports are down 10.3 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively, vs. the prior 12-month period. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 19 percent in November and is estimated at 21 percent over the first 11 months of 2023.
Key steel products with a significant import increase in November compared to October are sheet and strip all other metallic coatings (up 55 percent) and ingots, billets and slabs (up 54 percent). Products with a significant increase in imports over the 12-month period December 2022 to November 2023 compared to the previous 12-month period include cut lengths plates (up 13 percent).
In November, the largest suppliers were Canada (534,000 NT, down 4 percent vs. October), Brazil (380,000 NT, up 266 percent),
Mexico (248,000 NT, down 20 percent), South Korea (141,000 NT, down 16 percent) and Japan (86,000 NT, down 36 percent). Over the 12-month period December 2022 to November 2023, the largest suppliers were Canada (6,868,000 NT, unchanged compared to the previous 12-months), Mexico (4,308,000 NT, down 21 percent), Brazil (3,656,000 NT, up 32 percent), South Korea (2,600,000 NT, down 8 percent) and Japan (1,229,000 NT, up 1 percent).
