Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that steel import permit applications for the month of June totaled 2,059,000 net tons (NT). This was a 3.5 percent increase from the 1,990,000 permit tons recorded in May and a 5.8 percent decrease from the May final imports total of 2,186,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in June was 1,478,000, down 5.6 percent from the final imports total of 1,566,000 in May. For the first six months of 2026 (including June SIMA permits and May final imports), total and finished steel imports were 11,247,000 NT and 8,181,000 NT, down 23.1 percent and 24.3 percent, respectively, from the same period in 2025. The estimated finished steel import market share in June was 17 percent and is 16 percent year-to-date (YTD).
Steel imports with large increases in June permits vs. May final imports include line pipe (up 94 percent), hot rolled sheets (up 39 percent), cut length plates (up 31 percent), cold rolled sheets (up 20 percent) and structural pipe and tubing (up 18 percent). Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2025 include standard rails (up 97 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 58 percent), structural pipe and tubing (up 12 percent) and reinforcing bars (up 11 percent).
In June, the largest steel import permit applications were for South Korea (405,000 NT, up 2 percent from May final imports), Canada (298,000 NT, up 6 percent), Vietnam (223,000 NT, up 57 percent), Mexico (194,000 NT, up 5 percent) and Brazil (133,000 NT, down 60 percent). Through the first six months of 2026, the largest suppliers were South Korea (1,978,000 NT, up 36 percent), Canada (1,576,000 NT, down 44 percent) and Brazil (1,393,000 NT, down 46 percent).
Published August 2026
