Based on the Commerce Department's most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Wednesday reported that steel import permit applications for the month of March totaled 1,971 ,000 net tons (nt). This was a 20 percent increase from the 1,644,000 permit tons recorded in February and a 25 percent increase from the February preliminary imports total of 1,574,000 nt. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in March was 1,627,000 nt, a 27 percent increase from the 1,278,000 permit tons recorded in February and a 34 percent increase from the February preliminary imports total of 1,214,000 nt. The gains in apparent steel demand and domestic production (March vs. February) were 14 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Finished steel import market share in March is estimated at 20 percent (vs. less than 15 percent in August of last year).
March total and finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 20,826,000 nt and 16,504,000 nt, up 28 percent and 16 percent, respectively, from the 16,215,000 nt and 14,179,000 nt imported in 2009.
In commenting on the March SIMA data, Thomas J. Gibson, AISI president and CEO, said, "Over the past two quarters, domestic steel capacity utilization has been on the rise, but only to a level slightly above 70 percent. At the same time, steel imports and import market share have been rising at a faster rate. America's economy, manufacturing base and steel market are only now at the beginning stages of a slow and fragile recovery. Our focus must remain on ensuring that this recovery is not undermined by foreign dumping, subsidies, currency manipulation and other unfair trade practices."
In March, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Korea (142,000 nt, up 45 percent from February), Japan (133,000 nt, up 20 percent), Germany (119,000 nt, up 347 percent), China (63,000 nt, up 39 percent) and Australia (57,000 nt, up 18 percent).
Finished steel import permits for major product categories that registered significant increases in March vs. the February preliminary include cut length plates (up 151 percent), standard rails (up 114 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 114 percent), oil country goods (up 88 percent), plates in coils (up 57 percent), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 50 percent), tin plate (up 42 percent), hot rolled bars (up 38 percent) and line pipe (up 27 percent).