Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 2,801,000 net tons (NT) of steel in April 2024, including 2,092,000 NT of finished steel (up 11.3 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively, vs. March 2024). Total and finished steel imports are up 4.5 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, year-to-date vs. 2023. Over the 12-month period May 2023 to April 2024, total and finished steel imports are down 3.1 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively, vs. the prior 12-month period. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 24 percent in April and is estimated at 23 percent over the first four months of 2024.
Key steel products with a significant import increase in April compared to March are wire rods (up 62 percent), blooms, billets and slabs (up 38 percent), tin plate (up 37 percent), cold rolled sheets (up 23 percent), reinforcing bars (up 22 percent) and hot rolled bars (up 22 percent). Products with a significant increase in imports over the 12-month period May 2023 to April 2024 compared to the previous 12-month period include cut lengths plates (up 30 percent), ingots, billets and slabs (up 21 percent) and sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 14 percent).
In April, the largest suppliers were Canada (587,000 NT, down 2 percent vs. March), Mexico (423,000 NT, up 48 percent), Brazil (386,000 NT, down 2 percent), South Korea (208,000 NT, down 40 percent) and Vietnam (145,000 NT, up 66 percent). Over the 12-month period May 2023 to April 2024, the largest suppliers were Canada (6,848,000 NT, down 1 percent compared to the previous twelve months), Brazil (4,275,000 NT, up 55 percent), Mexico (3,991,000 NT, down 20 percent), South Korea (2,857,000 NT, up 10 percent) and Japan (1,148,000 NT, down 12 percent).
