Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that steel import permit applications for the month of September totaled 2,550,000 tons. This was a 3% decrease from the 2,638,000 permit tons recorded in August, but an increase of 3% from the August preliminary imports total of 2,475,000 tons. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in September was 1,947,000 tons, up 1% from the preliminary imports total of 1,929,000 tons in August. September 2012 total and finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 33,911,000 tons and 26,270,000 tons, up 19% and 22%, respectively, vs. the 28,515,000 tons and 21,835,000 tons imported in 2011. The estimated finished steel import market share in September was 23%, and it is 24% through 9 months of 2012.

Finished steel imports with large increases in September permits vs. the August preliminary include hot rolled sheets (up 20%), standard rails (up 352%), plates-in-coils (up 27%), sheets & strip all other metallic coatings (up 48%), wire rods (up 21%) and standard pipe (up 18%). Major products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2011 include reinforcing bars (up 51%), line pipe (up 36%), sheets & strip galvanized hot dipped (up 32%), cut lengths plates (up 32%), oil country goods (up 29%) and hot rolled bars (up 17%).

"We remain greatly concerned about the level of finished steel imports into the U.S. market year-to-date," AISI President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson said, "especially with the increases we are seeing in key products used in the energy, construction and automotive markets. We urge our government to be proactive in the enforcement of the trade laws and practice even greater vigilance toward evidence of foreign unfair trade practices that can be injurious to American steel producers."

In September, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for South Korea (303,000 tons, up 36% from August), Japan (161,000 tons, up 20%), Germany (113,000 tons, up 19%), China (94,000 tons, down 68%) and Taiwan (73,000 tons, up 44%). Through the first 9 months of 2012, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (2,734,000 tons, up 23% from the same period in 2011), Japan (1,489,000 tons, up 34%) and China (1,177,000 tons, up 24%).