March Imports Creep 14% Ahead of February Totals
04/24/2007 - The U.S. imported a total of 2,989,000 net tons of steel in March 2007 according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute—a 14% increase compared to February 2007’s final data.
The U.S. imported a total of 2,989,000 net tons of steel in March 2007 according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)—a 14% increase compared to February 2007’s final data.
According to the report, which is based on preliminary Census Bureau data, that total includes 2,455,000 net tons of finished steel, a 12% increase over February 2007’s final data.
While the totals are down compared to the all-time record year of 2006, total and finished steel imports through the first quarter of 2007 are up 3% and 9%, respectively, vs. the same period in 2005. On an annualized basis, total and finished steel imports are up 7% and 11%, respectively.
Key products with large increases in March compared to the month before include
- Cut-length plates, +52%
- Standard pipe, +45%
- Tin plate, +40%
- Structural pipe and tubing, +40%
- Wire rods, +31%
- Hot rolled bars, +24%
- Hot rolled sheets, +23%
- Galvanized hot dipped sheets & strip (+19%)
For March, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from China (at 377,000 net tons), the European Union-27 (at 299,000 net tons) and South Korea (at 198,000 net tons). March was the 10th consecutive month in which China was the 1st- or 2nd-largest foreign supplier of steel to the U.S. market.
"Subsidized and less efficient foreign producers are continuing to ship large tonnages of steel to the U.S. market,” AISI President and CEO Andrew G. Sharkey III, said. "Steel is not the only domestic industry that is being forced to compete increasingly against foreign governments and trade and market-distorting practices, which is why so many American industries are today supporting prompt passage of stronger national trade laws.”
“The March numbers are a further reminder of why it is essential that the Administration agree to nothing in bilateral or multilateral negotiations that would weaken in any way our vital U.S. laws against dumped and subsidized imports,” Sharkey said.
