Drop in July steel imports worries U.S. steel consumers
The drop in
US steel imports reported earlier this week by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) is worrying the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA), which represents the $41 billion metalforming industry of
North America, especially due to the fact that domestic steel
production is currently not sufficient to meet local demand and
US steel consumers are increasingly facing supply shortages and soaring prices.
As SteelOrbis reported earlier this week, the DOC released preliminary steel import data for July that showed total steel imports at 2.7 million tons, a decrease of 11.3% from June 2004.
A spokesperson from the PMA stated that the shortage of available steel continues to hurt
US steel-consuming companies, especially for those companies that depend on imported steel to enable them to remain competitive in the global marketplace.
PMA's July Steel Report showed that almost half of reporting companies experienced cancelled shipments from their steel suppliers, 89% received late shipments and 81% received only partial shipments. Furthermore, according to PMA, prices are higher by $100-$200 per ton in the US compared to elsewhere in the world.