According to preliminary census data from the US Department of Commerce, US monthly steel imports in January 2021 increased 61.9 percent from December to total 2,198,449 mt. A year-on-year comparison shows a 23.3 percent decrease. In terms of value, US steel imports in January totaled $1.65 billion, compared to $1.29 billion in December and $2.15 billion in January 2020.
Top sources for US steel imports in January include: Brazil, with 758,828 mt; Canada, with 513,235 mt; Mexico, with 331,229 mt; Korea, with 119,254 mt; and Russia, with 83,044 mt.
By product group, semi-finished imports totaled 1,054,215 mt in January, up from 128,875 mt in December but down from 1,356,821 mt in January 2020. Flat product imports totaled 544,767 mt in January, down from 663,816 mt in December and 758,551 mt in January 2020. Long product imports totaled 330,484 mt in January, up from 258,960 mt in December but down from 350,437 mt in January 2020. Pipe and tube imports totaled 211,117 mt in January, down from 252,567 mt in December and 332,089 mt in January 2020.
According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the US steel import market share in January 2021 was estimated at 15 percent, compared to 18 percent in December.