Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Wednesday that the
US imported a total of 3,584,000 net tons (nt) of steel in February 2015, including 2,832,000 net tons (nt) of finished steel (down 18.4 percent and 20.7 percent, respectively, vs. January final data). Year-to-date (YTD) total and finished steel imports are 7,977,000 and 6,405,000 net tons (nt), respectively, up 23 percent and 36 percent respectively, vs. the same period in 2014. Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2015 would be 47.9 and 38.4 million nt, up 8 percent and 14 percent respectively vs. 2014. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 32 percent in February and is estimated at 33 percent YTD.
Key finished steel products with a significant import increase in February compared to January are heavy structural shapes (up 46 percent), tin plate (up 18 percent) and sheet and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 12 percent). Major products with significant YTD import increases vs. the same period last year include cut lengths plates (up 120 percent), line pipe (up 104 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 83 percent), cold rolled sheets (up 62 percent), standard pipe (up 55 percent), tin plate (up 42 percent),
plates in coils (up 40 percent), oil country goods (up 40 percent), hot rolled sheets (up 30 percent) and sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 21 percent).
February, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (481,000 nt, down 43 percent vs. January final), China (265,000 nt, up 34 percent), Turkey (235,000 nt, down 21 percent), Japan (211,000 nt, down 13 percent) and Germany (138,000 nt, down 10 percent). For two months of 2015, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,318,000 nt, up 60 percent), Turkey (533,000 nt, up 78 percent), China (462,000 nt, up 26 percent), Japan (452,000 nt, up 38 percent) and Brazil (297,000 nt, up 271 percent).