Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 2,292,000 net tons (NT) of steel in March 2021, including 1,774,000 NT of finished steel (up 20.7 percent and 23.6 percent, respectively, vs. February final data).
Through the first three months of 2021, total and finished steel imports are 6,613,000 and 4,447,000 NT, up 3.1 percent and down 1.4 percent, respectively, vs. the same period in 2020. Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2021 would be 26.5 and 17.8 million NT, up 20.1 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively, vs. 2020. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 19 percent in March and is estimated at 18 percent over the first three months of 2021.
Key finished steel products with a significant increase in imports in March compared to February are sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 171 percent), reinforcing bars (up 66 percent), hot rolled bars (up 58 percent), oil country goods (up 45 percent), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 43 percent), cut lengths plates (up 33 percent), mechanical tubing (up 27 percent), wire drawn (up 27 percent), standard pipe (up 25 percent), tin plate (up 19 percent) and wire rods (up 19 percent).
In March, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (239,000 NT, up 4 percent from February final), Taiwan (88,000 NT, up 162 percent), Japan (85,000 NT, down 3 percent), Germany (82,000 NT, up 27 percent) and Turkey (43,000 NT, down 45 percent). For the first three months of 2021, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (601,000 NT, up 10 percent vs. the same period in 2020), Japan (219,000 NT, up 8 percent), Turkey (201,000 NT, up 29 percent), Germany (170,000 NT, up 1 percent) and Taiwan (149,000 NT, up 9 percent).
Published in the June 2021 Edition
