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 February 2020 totaled 1,654,091 mt. This was a 41.8 percent decrease from the 2,844,064 mt in preliminary census data totals recorded in January and a 24.9 percent decrease from the 2,205,027 mt in census data totals recorded in February 2019.
In February, steel products with the largest total steel import permits included blooms, billets and slab at a combined 356,015 mt; HDG, at 175,088 mt; HRC, at 130,071 mt; rebar, at 89,822 mt; CRC, at 78,299 mt; and OCTG, at 76,617 mt.
The largest sources of steel import permit applications in February were Canada (419,903 mt), Mexico (249,713 mt), Brazil (216,672 mt), Korea (140,422 mt), and Turkey (80,506 mt).