Steel Import Permits Rise 12% in January
02/04/2010 - Steel import applications reached 1,537,000 net tons for the month of January, a 12% increase from the 1,377,000 permit tons recorded in December 2009 according to the latest report from AISI.
Steel import applications reached 1,537,000 net tons for the month of January, according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)
The AISI report, which is based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, shows that the January total represents a 12% increase from the 1,377,000 permit tons recorded in December 2009 and a 10% increase from the December preliminary imports total of 1,396,000 net tons.
The report also shows that the January total included finished steel import permit tonnage of 1,179,000 net tons, reflecting a 6% increase from the preliminary imports total of 1,119,000 net tons in December.
January 2010 total steel import permit tons would annualize at 18,447,000 net tons, up 14% from the 16,201,000 net tons imported in 2009, while finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 14,153,000 net tons, down 0.1% from the 14,165,000 net tons imported in 2009.
In January 2010, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Korea (139,000 net tons, up 34% from December), Japan (95,000 net tons, down 7%), China (68,000 net tons, up 45%), Italy (52,000 net tons, up 5%) and The United Kingdom (39,000 net tons, up 97%).
Finished steel import market share in January is estimated at 17%. Finished steel import permits for major product categories that registered significant increases in January vs. the December 2009 preliminary include oil tubular country goods (up 97%), standard rails (up 77%), heavy structural shapes (up 44%), line pipe (32%), and standard pipe (up 16%).
“The imports situation over the last several months has not changed very much,” said AISI President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson, commenting on the SIMA data. “Import market share is staying at or just below 20%, and the three top offshore suppliers of finished steel continue to be Asian nations.
The key thing we remain concerned about is that the domestic steel industry and manufacturing at large in the United States are only now in the beginning stages of a long, slow, fragile recovery,” added Gibson. “Therefore, close vigilance against dumped and subsidized imports of individual products from individual countries must be maintained.”
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. The Institute also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI comprises 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 138 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.
