AISI Foresees 6.3% Drop in Annual U.S Steel Imports

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Based on estimates provided by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the total steel imports by the U.S. is likely to post a decline of 6.3% during the entire year 2018, when compared with the previous year. The forecast is based on analysis of import trends during the opening six months of the current year. The U.S. steel imports had collapsed by 25% in June this year.

According to AISI, the total and finished steel imports by the U.S. during Jan-June ’17 totaled 17.869 million NT and 13.999 million NT respectively. The imports of total and finished steel by the U.S. have declined by 9.3% and 7.1% respectively, when compared with the corresponding six month period last year.

As per data, finished steel imports by the country are likely to total 27.998 million net tons (Mt), considerably lower by 5.3% when matched with the yearly import total of 29.561 Mt in 2017. The annualized imports of total steel are expected to decline by 6.3% from 38.126 Mt in 2017 to 35.738 Mt in 2018.

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The steel import volumes from Turkey are likely to witness huge decline in 2018. The Turkish steel exports to the U.S are likely to collapse by over 40% year-on-year. The imports from Brazil are likely to drop by more than 15%. The U.S. steel imports from Taiwan may also witness double digit decline during the year. Meantime, Vietnam stands out as the only country that is likely to record higher shipments to the US. The Institute foresees 35% jump in imports from Vietnam.

Among various steel mill products, Wire Rods are likely to record biggest annual drop in import volumes. The imports of these products are likely to shrink by almost 28% over the previous year. The other products to see significant drop in imports are Cold Rolled Sheets (down 16.9%), Heavy Structural Shapes (down 16%) and Reinforcing Bars (down 15.6%). On the other hand, the import volumes of Hot Rolled Sheets are likely to surge higher by almost one-fifth during the entire year 2018.