Based on preliminary US Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Wednesday that the US imported a total of 2,442,000 net tons (nt) of steel in June, including 1,956,000 nt of finished steel (down 14 percent and 9 percent, respectively, versus May final data). Year-to-date total and finished steel imports are 15,714,000 nt and 12,351,000 nt, respectively, down 11 percent and 9 percent compared to the January-June time period in 2012. Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2013 would be 31.4 and 24.7 million nt, down 6 percent and 4 percent respectively compared to 2012. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 23 percent in June and is estimated at 23 percent year-to-date.
Key finished steel products with a significant import increase in June 2013 compared to May are plates in coils (up 30 percent), mechanical tubing (up 18 percent) and hot rolled sheets (up 10 percent).
In June, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were all from Asia and Europe, including: South Korea (234,000 nt and down 17 percent versus May final data), China (153,000 nt and down 17 percent); Japan (129,000 nt and down 24 percent); Germany (106,000 nt and up 67 percent) and Turkey (99,000 nt and down 42 percent).
For six months of 2013, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea, Japan, China, Turkey and Germany.