Finished Steel Import Permits Up 15% in June
07/07/2011 - Steel import applications reached 2,734,000 net tons for the month of June, a 2% increase from the May preliminary imports total of 2,692,000 net tons according to the latest report from AISI.
Steel import applications reached 2,734,000 net tons for the month of June, according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The June total represents a 3% decrease from the 2,807,000 permit tons recorded in May and a 2% increase from the May preliminary imports total of 2,692,000 net tons.
The report, which is based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, shows that the June total included import permit tonnage of 2,109,000 net tons for finished steel, up 15% from the preliminary imports total of 1,838,000 net tons in May.
Year-to date (YTD) 2011 total steel import permit tons would annualize at 28,803,000 net tons, up 20% vs. the 23,929,000 net tons, while YTD finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 21,767,000 net tons, up 15% vs. the 18,857,000 net tons imported in 2010.
The estimated finished steel import market share in June was 23%, and the year-to-date share increased to 22%.
In June, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Korea (318,000 net tons, up 49% from May), China (154,000 net tons, up 29%), Japan (141,000 net tons, up 8%), Russia (100,000 net tons, up 102%) and Turkey (94,000 net tons, up 36%).
Finished steel import permits for major products that registered increases in June vs. the May preliminary include
· Sheet and strip, all other metallic coated (up 90%)
· Reinforcing bar (up 64%)
· Cut-length plates (up 40%)
· Line pipe (up 24%)
· Cold rolled sheets (up 22%)
· Oil country goods (up 17%)
· Plates in coils (up 17%).
“Finished steel imports were at their highest level in 2011, as China increased its market presence and became the second largest offshore supplier behind Korea,” said AISI President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson, commenting on the June 2011 SIMA data. “There were sharp increases in virtually every major category -- led by a 100,000 ton month-over-month increase in tubular products, and increases of approximately 50,000 tons each in plate, bar and sheet products.
“Taking plate as an example, June import tonnage was the highest since September 2008, due in part to significantly higher tonnages from offshore suppliers Russia and Korea,” added Gibson. “Domestic steelmakers remain concerned that significant volumes of dumped and subsidized imports could threaten the ongoing U.S. steel market recovery.”
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 the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. The Institute comprises 25 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 140 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.
