Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 1,792,000 net tons (NT) of steel in May 2020, including 1,486,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (down 35.5 percent and up 13.2 percent, respectively, vs. April final data).
Through the first five months of 2020, total and finished steel imports are 10,981,000 and 7,308,000 NT, down 19.2 percent and 26.7 percent, respectively, vs. the same period in 2019. Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2020 would be 26.4 and 17.5 million NT, down 5.7 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively, vs. 2019.
Finished steel import market share was an estimated 23 percent in May and is estimated at 18 percent over the first five months of 2020.
Key finished steel products with a significant increase in imports in May compared to April are oil country goods (up 71 percent), standard pipe (up 44 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 37 percent), tin plate (up 31 percent), hot rolled bars (up 28 percent), sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 18 percent), mechanical tubing (up 17 percent) and line pipe (up 15 percent).
In May the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (229,000 NT, up 42 percent from April final), Japan (103,000 NT, up 50 percent), Turkey (85,000 NT, up 61 percent), Taiwan (81,000 NT, up 70 percent) and Germany (65,000 NT, up 1 percent). For the first five months of 2020, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (937,000 NT, down 27 percent vs. the same period in 2019), Japan (373,000 NT, down 39 percent), Germany (298,000 NT, down 42 percent), Turkey (294,000 NT, up 59 percent) and Taiwan (267,000 NT, down 39 percent).
Published in the August 2020 Edition
