Steel Import Permit Applications Shrink 21% in August
09/04/2008 - Steel import permit applications totaled 2,363,000 net tons in August 2008, a 21% decrease from the 2,991,000 permit tons recorded in July 2008, and a 17% decline from the July preliminary imports total of 2,842,000 net tons, according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Steel import permit applications totaled 2,363,000 net tons in August, according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) — a 21% decrease from the 2,991,000 permit tons recorded in July 2008, and a 17% decline from the July preliminary imports total of 2,842,000 net tons.
The report, which is based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, shows that the August import permit tonnage total included 1,922,000 net tons of finished steel, a 12% decrease from the preliminary imports total of 2,177,000 net tons in July.
Total YTD steel imports for the first eight months of 2008 (including August SIMA and July preliminary) were 21,136,000 net tons, an 11% decrease from the 23,636,000 net tons imported in the first eight months of last year. Total steel imports for 2008 would annualize at 31.7 million net tons, or 5% below the 12-month total for 2007.
For August 2008, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for China (490,000 NT), South Korea (193,000 net tons), Japan (149,000 net tons) and India (66,000 net tons). Due in part to a surge in import permits for hot rolled bars from China, Chinese steel permit tons set a new monthly high for 2008, exceeding the previous monthly high this year (369,000 net tons in June) by 33%. Permit tonnage for Chinese steel increased 55% in August compared to China’s preliminary imports in July and were at the highest monthly level since June 2007 (512,000 net tons).
Product categories that increased in August vs. the July preliminary include Hot Rolled Bars (+50%) and Oil Country Goods (+6%). Product categories with significant increases year-to-date vs. 2007 include Oil Country Goods (+43%) and Line Pipe (+11%).
“The surge in finished steel imports from China was the big story last month,” said AISI President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson, commenting on the import situation in August. “This is a further reminder of the importance of trade laws and WTO rules — especially as they pertain to China, the world’s largest non-market economy, where the government continues to intervene massively in global currency markets, in domestic strategic manufacturing industries such as steel and in the strategic raw material and mineral markets that underpin the Chinese manufacturers.”
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 27 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 138 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.
