AISI Published March SIMA Imports Data

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) published most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, which signals substantial surge in steel import permit applications in the month of March this year.

Based on Commerce Department data, the permit applications totalled 2.705 million net tons in March 2023. This is significantly higher by approximately 23.1% when matched with 2.198 million net tons permit tons recorded during the prior month. When compared with February 2023 final imports of 2.289 million net tons, the March 2023 steel import permit tonnage was up by 18.2%, AISI data said.

In March this year, the import permit tonnage for finished steel totalled 1.943 million net tons, up by 11.1% from the final imports total of 1.749 million net tons in February this year.

Tin free steel reported largest increase in March permits over the prior month, surging higher by 97%. The import permits for cut length plates and tin plates were up by 60% and 44% respectively.

In March 2023, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Canada. The largest offshore suppliers through the first three months of the current year were Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

The estimated finished steel import market share in March this year was 22% and 23% during the initial three-month period of the current year.