Steel imports down 21 percent

Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 1,300,000 net tons (NT) of steel in August 2020, including 1,188,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (down 51.9 percent and 13.9 percent, respectively, vs. July final data).

Through the first 8 months of 2020, total and finished steel imports are 16,400,000 and 11,211,000 NT, down 20.7 percent and 26.9 percent, respectively, vs. the same period in 2019. Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2020 would be 24.6 and 16.8 million NT, down 11.9 percent and 20.1 percent, respectively, vs. 2019. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 17 percent in August and is estimated at 19 percent over the first eight months of 2020.

In August the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (112,000 NT, down 29 percent from July final), Japan (55,000 NT, up 9 percent), Germany (50,000 NT, up 8 percent), Turkey (46,000 NT, down 11 percent) and The Netherlands (36,000 NT, down 14 percent). For the first eight months of 2020, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,394,000 NT, down 26 percent vs. the same period in 2019), Japan (539,000 NT, down 43 percent), Germany (473,000 NT, down 38 percent), Turkey (420,000 NT, up 89 percent) and Taiwan (404,000 NT, down 40 percent).

Published in the November 2020 Edition