Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 2,767,000 net tons (NT) of steel in August 2021, including 2,102,000 net tons of finished steel (down 10.1 percent and up 1.0 percent, respectively, vs. July final data).
Through the first 8 months of 2021, total and finished steel imports are 20,564,000 and 14,209,000 net tons, up 25.5 percent and 26.9 percent, respectively, vs. the same period in 2020.
Finished steel import market share was an estimated 21 percent in August and is estimated at 20 percent over the first eight months of 2021. Key finished steel products with a significant increase in imports in August compared to July are hot rolled sheets (up 22 percent), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 18 percent) and mechanical tubing (up 14 percent). Products with a significant year-to-date (YTD) increase vs. the same period in 2020 were hot rolled sheets (up 94 percent), plates in coils (up 67 percent), sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 50 percent), wire rods (up 46 percent), cut lengths plates (up 45 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 27 percent), wire drawn (up 23 percent), hot rolled bars (up 22 percent), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 19 percent) and cold rolled sheets (up 18 percent).
In August, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (163,000 NT, down 45 percent from July final), Taiwan (105,000 NT, up 36 percent), Germany (80,000 NT, up 16 percent) and Japan (77,000 NT, up 16 percent). For the first 8 months of 2021, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,793,000 NT, up 29 percent vs. the same period in 2020), Japan (667,000 NT, up 26 percent) and Germany (560,000 NT, up 18 percent).
Published in the November 2021 Edition