Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 1,888,000 net tons (NT) of steel in February 2021, including 1,424,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (down 22.0 percent and up 15.0 percent, respectively, vs. January final data).
Through the first two months of 2021, total and finished steel imports are 4,310,000 and 2,662,000 net tons (NT), down 7.5 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively, vs. the same period in 2020. Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2021 would be 25.9 and 16.0 million NT, up 17.4 percent and down 1.0 percent, respectively, vs. 2020. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 18 percent in February and is estimated at 17 percent over the first two months of 2021.
Key finished steel products with a significant increase in imports in February compared to January are tin plate (up 158 percent), cold rolled sheets (up 69 percent), hot rolled sheets (up 63 percent), line pipe (up 38 percent), mechanical tubing (up 19 percent) and wire rods (up 17 percent). A product with a significant year-to-date (YTD) increase vs. the same period in 2020 was structural pipe and tubing (up 13 percent).
In February, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (231,000 NT, up 75 percent from January final), Turkey (77,000 NT, down 6 percent), Japan (76,000 NT, up 65 percent), Germany (65,000 NT, up 180 percent) and Brazil (33,000 NT, down 20 percent). For the first two months of 2021, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (362,000 NT, up 6 percent vs. the same period in 2020), Turkey (158,000 NT, up 28 percent), Japan (123,000 NT, down 16 percent), Germany (88,000 NT, down 12 percent) and Brazil (75,000 NT, down 41 percent).
Published in the May 2021 Edition