Steel Import Permits Down 6% in May
06/02/2011 - Steel import permit applications reached 2,579,000 net tons for the month of May, a 6% decrease from the 2,746,000 permit tons recorded in April according to the latest report from AISI.
Steel import permit applications reached 2,579,000 net tons for the month of May according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The May total represents a 6% decrease from the 2,746,000 permit tons recorded in April and a 2% increase from the April preliminary imports total of 2,535,000 net tons.
The report, which is based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, shows that the May total included import tonnage 1,768,000 net tons of finished steel, down 8% from the preliminary imports total of 1,915,000 net tons in April.
Year-to date (YTD) 2011 total steel import permit tons would annualize at 27,697,000 net tons, up 16% vs. the 23,929,000 net tons imported in 2010, while YTD finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 20,855,000 net tons, up 11% vs. the 18,857,000 net tons imported in 2010.
The estimated finished steel import market share in May was to 21%, the same as the 2011 YTD market share.
In May, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Korea (222,000 net tons, down 28% from April), Japan (145,000 net tons, up 36%), China (114,000 net tons, up 19%), Turkey (80,000 net tons, down 32%) and Germany (77,000 net tons, up 6%).
Finished steel import permits for major products that registered large increases in May vs. the April preliminary include wire rods (up 26%) and oil country goods (up 14%).
“In spite of an 8 percent decline in finished steel imports in May, import market share -- at 21 percent – remains stubbornly high in the context of current economic conditions,” said AISI President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson, commenting on the May 2011 SIMA data. “These conditions include a slower pace of economic recovery and a domestic steel capacity utilization rate that is under 75 percent. We must therefore maintain enhanced vigilance with respect to dumped and subsidized imports and the need for strong and effective enforcement of our trade laws and customs procedures.”
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 118 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.
