June 28, 2006 — The United States imported a total of 3,833,000 million net tons of steel in May 2006 according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The total reflects a 2.4% increase compared to the previous month, April 2006.

The report, which is based on preliminary Census Bureau data, indicates that the total includes 3,086,000 net tons of finished steel, a 1.3% decrease compared to the previous month.

Year-to-date (YTD) imports are up 33% compared to YTD imports for the same period in 2005, while YTD finished steel imports are 31% higher than YTD finished steel imports for the comparable 2005 period. Finished steel imports in May 2006 were 41% higher than in May 2005.

Looking at a three-month rolling average (the most recent three month period compared to the previous three month period), finished steel imports overall are up 23%. Notable increases include:

• Plates in coil, +78%
• Line pipe, +60%
• Cold rolled sheets, +43%
• Reinforcing bars, +37%
• Hot rolled sheets, +35%
• Tinplate, +32%
• Cut-length plates, +31%
• Galvanized hot dipped sheets & strip, +27%
• Oil country goods, +27%

The rising trend remains especially pronounced for countries with a history of unfair trading, e.g., Taiwan (+51%), Turkey (+38%), Japan (+23%), China (+20%) and Brazil (+19%). On an annualized basis (based on YTD 2006 imports), both total and finished steel imports (at 45.1 and 35.0 million net tons, respectively) would set all-time records.

Key products with large increases in May compared to the month before include

• Hot rolled sheets, +45%
• Plates in coil, +30%
• Line pipe, +24%
• Semi-finished steel, used in significant quantities by converters and processors, +22%

Products with sizable YTD increases compared to 2005 include

• Reinforcing bars, +118%
• Heavy structural shapes, +84%
• Cold rolled sheets, +59%
• Hot rolled sheets, +51%
• Numerous pipe and tube products, including line pipe, +48%
• Cut-length plates, +41%
• Semi-finished steel, +41%
• Bars – light shapes, +36%
• Galvanized hot dipped sheets & strip, +35%
• Plates in coil, +33%

“This year’s record import surge is a reminder that, while America’s New Steel Industry is efficient, globally competitive, investing for the future, serving our customers and facing good prospects, even healthy industries can be injured by dumped and subsidized imports, said AISI Chairman Louis L. Schorsch, who is also President and CEO of Mittal Steel USA. “There is a role for imports in the U.S. market — but there is no role for dumped or subsidized trade. We will continue to monitor inappropriate market interventions by offshore governments, Asian over-production of steel, non-market-based steel capacity expansions offshore and steel import flows — especially from China and the Asian region as a whole. The current import surge underlines the need to preserve, defend and enhance our vital trade remedy laws.”