The amount of steel imported by the United States dropped another 18 percent in June compared to May 2009, and was down 69 percent compared to June 2008, the latest preliminary data shows.
The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) reported Tuesday that the US' total steel imports in June 2009 were approximately 850,000 net tons compared to 1.02 million nt in May 2009. According to year-to-date figures, imports decreased 46 percent in the first six months of 2009 compared to 2008 or from 16 million nt in 2008 to 8.6 million nt in 2009. The data show that imported semi-finished products decreased by 91.5 percent in June 2009 as compared to June 2008. For the year-to-date period, semi-finished imports decreased from 3.3 million nt in 2008 to 566,000 nt tons in 2009, an 82.2 percent decrease, based on preliminary reporting.
“Import arrivals in June were at very depressed levels due to weakness in the marketplace during the order period for non-NAFTA arrivals,” said David Phelps, president of AIIS. “As we move deeper into the summer, we are beginning to see an improvement in import order taking as the inventory draw-down has mostly been completed and US market prices are starting to move up. The AIIS monthly import survey, (www.aiis.org) has begun to show some reason for optimism for the steel market and imports in coming months,” concluded Phelps.