The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Wednesday that based on the US Department of Commerce's (DOC) Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, steel import permit applications in July were 2,447,000 net tons (nt). Steel permit applications in July reflected an approximately 13 percent decrease from the 2,797,000 permit tons recorded in June and an 8 percent decrease from the June preliminary imports total of 2,670,000 nt.
Finished steel tonnage in July was 2,012,000 nt, a 5 percent decline from preliminary June imports of 2,110,000 nt. Year-to-date, 2011 total and finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 29,240,000 nt, and 22,404,000 nt, up 22 percent and 19 percent, respectively versus the same period in 2010.
In July, the largest finished steel import permit applications from offshore countries were from Korea (305,000 nt, up 1 percent from June), China (148,000 nt, down 8 percent), Japan (136,000 nt, up 11 percent), Australia (104,000 nt, up 168 percent) and Russia (81,000 nt, down 21 percent).
Finished steel import permits for major products that registered increases in July versus June include standard rails (up 81 percent), hot rolled sheets (up 41 percent) and standard pipe (up 11 percent).