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 March totaled 3,157,087 mt. This was a 42.9 percent increase from the 2,208,893 mt in permits recorded in February and a 47.3 percent increase from the February preliminary census import total of 2,143,228 mt.
In March, steel products with the largest total import permits include blooms, billets and slab at a combined 766,003 mt; OCTG, at 295,269 mt; HDG, at 258,080 mt; HRC, at 199,503 mt; CRC, at 187,938 mt; and line pipe, at 141,847 mt.
The largest sources of steel import permit applications in March were Canada (542,396 mt), Brazil (380,713 mt), Korea (328,125 mt), Russia (321,703 mt), and Mexico (317,867 mt).