Finished Steel Import Permit Tons up 16% in 2011 vs. 2010
01/06/2012 - Steel import permit applications totaled 2,208,000 net tons for the month of December 2011, a 9% increase from the 2,027,000 permit tons recorded in November 2011 according to the latest report from AISI.
Steel import permit applications totaled 2,208,000 net tons for the month of December 2011, according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The December total represents a 9% increase from the 2,027,000 permit tons recorded in November 2011 and a 5% increase from the November preliminary imports total of 2,107,000 net tons.
The report, which is based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, shows that the December total included import permit tonnage of 1,618,000 net tons for finished steel, down 2% from the preliminary imports total of 1,646,000 net tons in November.
Full-year 2011 total steel import permit tons were 28,646,000 net tons, up 20% vs. the 23,929,000 net tons imported in 2010. Full-year finished steel import permit tons were 21,871,000 net tons, up 16% vs. the 18,857,000 net tons imported in 2010. The estimated finished steel import market share was 19% in December and 22% for all of 2011.
In December, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Korea (222,000 net tons, up 15% from November), Japan (130,000 net tons, up 13%), Turkey (100,000 net tons, up 319%), China (100,000 net tons, up 21%) and Germany (76,000 net tons, up 19%). For full-year 2011, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (2, 856,000 net tons, up 40%), Japan (1, 479,000 net tons, up 12%), China (1,244,000 NT, up 45%), Germany (943,000 net tons, up 7%) and Turkey (750,000 net tons, up 29%).
Finished steel import permits for products that registered large increases in December vs. the November preliminary include reinforcing bar (up 101%), sheet and strip all other metallic coated (up 45%), wire rods (up 38%) and mechanical tubing (up 16%).
For full-year 2011, products that saw significant increases vs. 2010 include
· Cut-length plate (up 55%)
· Mechanical tubing (up 44%)
· Plates in coils (up 34%)
· Line pipe (up 33%)
· Sheet and strip, all other metallic coated (up 32%)
· Reinforcing bar (up 27%)
· Hot rolled bars (up 26%)
· Oil country goods (up 23%)
"While domestic steel production and utilization both increased in 2011 -- and while December SIMA finished steel import tons were the lowest since February of that year -- 2011 can best be characterized as a year of slow and fragile recovery,” said AISI president and CEO Thomas J. Gibson, commenting on the December and full-year 2011 SIMA data. “Domestic capacity utilization averaged only around 75% in 2011, while finished steel import market share rose to 22%, and finished steel import tonnage increased by more than 3 million tons, or roughly 16%, vs. the prior year. Year-over-year import increases of 30-50 percent in plate and certain other products, combined with continued increases in imports from China and other Asian countries, remain a cause of concern.
“Looking ahead to 2012, continued improvements in domestic steel market conditions will again depend on ensuring that U.S. producers are not further injured by surges of dumped and subsidized imports," added Gibson.
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 120 associate and the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. The Institute comprises 25 affiliate members including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 120 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.
