Steel Import Permit Tons Hold Steady through December
01/06/2011 - Steel import permit applications reached a total of 1,814,000 net tons for the month of December, a 0.4% decrease from the 1,808,000 permit tons recorded in November according to the latest report from AISI.
Steel import permit applications reached a total of 1,814,000 net tons for the month of December, according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The December total represents a 0.4% decrease from the 1,808,000 permit tons recorded in November and a 2% increase from the November preliminary imports total of 1,784,000 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 finished steel import permit tonnage of 1,445,000 net tons, down 3% from the preliminary imports total of 1,495,000 net tons in November.
Total steel import permit tons for full-year 2010 were 23,870,000 net tons, up 47% from the 16,215,000 net tons in the Great Recession year of 2009. Finished steel import permit tons for 2010 were 18,795,000 net tons, up 33% from the 14,179,000 net tons imported in 2009.
In December, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Korea (168,000 net tons, up 10% from November), Japan (96,000 net tons, down 7%), Germany (65,000 net tons, down 5%), China (61,000 net tons, down 13%) and Australia (47,000 net tons, down 20%). Finished steel import market shares for December and for 2010 as a whole were 19% and 21%, respectively.
Finished steel import permits for major products that registered significant increases in December vs. the November preliminary include
· Cut-length plate (up 32%)
· Hot-rolled bar (up 31%)
· Line pipe (up 27%)
· Reinforcing bar (up 14%)
For full-year 2010 vs. 2009, there were significant increases in import permit for oil country goods (up 49%), hot-rolled sheets (up 37%) and hot-dipped galvanized sheet and strip (up 36%).
“Notwithstanding a small improvement in December domestic steel production and declining finished steel imports over the last four months, domestic steel capacity utilization in the United States ended the year at only 70 percent, while steel imports in full-year 2010 maintained a 21 percent share of the U.S. market,” said AISI President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson, commenting on the December and full-year 2010 SIMA data.
“Looking ahead to 2011,” added Gibson, “continued improvements in domestic steel market conditions will depend in no small measure on ensuring that U.S. producers are not further injured by surges of dumped and subsidized imports.”
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 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 140 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.
