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 October 2019 totaled 2,321,980 mt. This was a 34.7 percent increase from the 1,723,416 mt in preliminary census data totals recorded in September but a 21.9 percent decrease from the 2,973,249 mt in census data totals recorded in October 2018.
In October, steel products with the largest total steel import permits included blooms, billets and slab at a combined 883,219 mt; HDG, at 213,788 mt; HRC, at 135,207 mt; OCTG, at 115,407 mt; CRC, at 102,787 mt; and plates in coil, at 76,773 mt.
The largest sources of steel import permit applications in October were Brazil (665,483 mt), Canada (494,426 mt), Mexico (361,995 mt), Korea (168,302 mt), and Germany (77,945 mt).