Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that the US imported a total of 2,944,000 net tons (nt) of steel in April 2008, including 2,194,000 nt of finished steel (up 15 and four percent, respectively, vs. March final data). However, the data also show that total and finished steel imports through the first four months of 2008 are down seven and nine percent, respectively, compared to the year-to-date April 2007 data.
Key products showing large increases in April compared to the previous month include: wire rod (up 92 percent), ingots, billets and slabs (up 64 percent), hot rolled sheet (up 40 percent), cold finished bar (up 32 percent), and rebar (up 30 percent). Products showing significant increases in the first four months of 2008 compared to the same period of the previous year include: line pipe (up 26 percent), and OCTG (up 18 percent).
Products which registered major decreases in April compared to the previous month include: hot-dip galvanized sheet and strip (-31.2 percent), cut length plates (-26.6 percent), OCTG (-15.0 percent), and standard pipe (-10.7 percent). For the first four months of the year, imports of the following products showed major decreases compared to the first four months of 2007: sheets and strip - all other (-41.2 percent), hot-dip galvanized sheet and strip (-31.3 percent), structural pipe and tubing (-28.0 percent), cold rolled sheet (-27.5 percent), rebar (-23.1 percent), wire rod (-22.9 percent) and mechanical tubing (-20.7 percent).
For April, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore mills were from South Korea (211,000 nt), China (180,000 nt), Japan (169,000 nt), Germany (146,000 nt) and Turkey (142,000 nt). Countries which showed major increases in the first four months of 2008 compared to the corresponding period of 2007 were Australia (up 85.9 percent), India (up 39.1 percent), Turkey (up 36.8 percent) and Germany (up 24.1 percent), while imports from the following countries decreased from the same period of 2007: Taiwan (-42.8 percent) and China (-39.8 percent).