Preliminary Census Bureau data from the US Department of Commerce show that steel imports into the US totaled 2,964,000 net tons (nt) in October 2008, reflecting an increase of one percent compared to September 2008. Meanwhile, US finished steel imports totaled 2,344,000 nt, showing a decrease of five percent from September.
Products which registered a large increase in imports in October included hot rolled bars (up 49 percent); cold rolled sheets (up 21 percent) and wire rod (up 20 percent). Products which saw significant decreases in October include: sheets & strip-all other metallic (down 41 percent); rebar (down 35 percent); hot rolled sheets (down 30 percent); and structural pipe & tubing (down 30 percent). The largest volume of finished imports from offshore was from China (713,000 nt, up 26 percent from September).
"Against the backdrop of a severe economic downturn in the US and globally, the unprecedented tonnage of finished steel imports from China in October is of extreme concern," American Iron and Steel Institute President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson stated in an AISI press release. "America's steel producers will not allow the US market to become again a dumping ground for unfairly traded steel from offshore," Mr. Gibson warned.
However, steel trade group American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) had a different take on the October import data. "The small increase in October reflects orders taken in June-July for non-NAFTA countries when the market was much stronger and steel prices in many markets were at their peak and the US Dollar had begun to strengthen," said David Phelps, president, AIIS. "We expect that arrivals for the rest of the year will begin to weaken somewhat as the impact of the international economic slowdown will begin to show up in slower order taking by importers. With order taking at this time in the middle of the fourth quarter at very low levels we expect arrivals to be substantially lower as we start 2009," Mr. Phelps concluded.
Year-to-date, both total and finished steel imports at the end of October were down six percent compared to the first 10 months of 2007. Also, while imports from China rose in October, year-to-date Chinese steel import are down nine percent compared to last year.