Based on the US Department of Commerce’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, steel import permit applications for the month of May 2020 totaled 2,027,721 mt. This was a 19.4 percent decrease from the 2,515,460 mt in preliminary census data totals recorded in April but a 7.8 percent increase from the 1,880,820 mt in census data totals recorded in May 2019.
In May, steel products with the largest total steel import permits included blooms, billets and slab at a combined 629,696 mt; OCTG, at 160,897 mt; HDG, at 124,946 mt; rebar, at 120,988 mt; CRC, at 113,680 mt; and HRC, at 106,067 mt.
The largest sources of steel import permit applications in May were Brazil (377,215 mt), Mexico (265,501 mt), Canada (250,952 mt), Korea (213,580 mt), and Japan (129,334 mt).