Steel bar institute initiates new program for import monitoring

The Cold Finished Steel Bar Institute (CFSBI) has initiated a new program to monitor imports of carbon and alloy cold finished steel bars to determine whether US trade laws are being violated.

"Members of the CFSBI are deeply concerned about increases in imports and import penetration in the US market," said CFSBI Chairman Michael Salamon, President and Chief Operating Officer of Niagara LaSalle Corporation.  For example, "year-to-date imports through May 2015 have increased over year-to-date 2014 in the following categories:  alloy cold finished bar (13 percent), carbon hot-rolled bar (12 percent), free machining hot-rolled bar (10.8 percent), and carbon cold finished bar (1.5 percent).  We are gathering information on import pricing of all forms of carbon and alloy cold finished steel bars, and working with our lawyers and economic consultants to evaluate whether these import trends are being driven by unfair trade practices such as dumping and subsidies.  We will be able to do this more accurately than ever before as a result of an improved program to collect and aggregate industry data for carbon and alloy steel bars," Salamon said.

While US consumption of carbon cold-finished steel bar declined by 15 percent in year-to-date 2015, expanded import volumes resulted in an increase in import penetration of the U.S. market to 19 percent.  Similarly, as imports of alloy cold-finished steel bar grew by 13 percent in year-to-date 2015 and US consumption of that product fell by 7 percent, the result was an increase in imports' share of the US market to 40 percent, the highest level in history.