Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the US imported a total of 2,323,000 net tons (nt) of steel in December 2015, including 2,017,000 net tons (nt) of finished steel (down 5.3 percent and up 3.2 percent, respectively, vs. November final data).
Full Year 2015 total and finished steel imports were 38,718,000 and 31,425,000 net tons (nt), respectively, down 13 percent and 7 percent respectively, vs. 2014. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 26 percent in December and is estimated at 29 percent for the full year.
Key finished steel products with a significant import increase in December compared to November are wire rods (up 77 percent), tin plate (up 71 percent), cut lengths plates (up 65 percent), heavy structural shapes (up 46 percent), hot rolled bars (up 20 percent) and cold rolled sheets (19 percent). Major products with significant import increases in 2015 vs. the prior year include reinforcing bar (up 38 percent) and standard pipe (up 13 percent).
In December, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (235,000 nt, down 25 percent vs. November final), Turkey (167,000 nt, up 8 percent), Japan (144,000 nt, down 13 percent), China (135,000 nt, up 111 percent) and Germany (122,000 nt, up 42 percent). For full year 2015, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (4,854,000 nt, down 11 percent), Turkey (2,808,000 nt, up 28 percent), China (2,374,000 nt, down 25 percent), Japan (2,259,000 nt, up 7 percent) and Germany (1,515,000 nt, up 19 percent).