Finished Steel Imports Poised to See Substantial Surge in 2021

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) forecasts notable jump in imports of finished steel by the country during the current year. The estimates provided by the association are based on the import trends during the initial five-month period of the current year.

The country is likely to witness 18.5% surge in finished steel imports in the entire year 2021. As per estimates, the full-year finished imports are likely to total 19.119 million net tons in 2021. The U.S. finished imports had totalled 16.139 million net tons in the whole of 2020. Meantime, the total steel imports are likely to witness a surge of 28.4% from 22.019 million net tons in 2020 to 28.271 million net tons during this year, AISI said.

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The imports of ingots and billets and slabs are likely to register the biggest year-on-year surge, rising significantly by 55.7% from the previous year. The imports of cut length plates and hot rolled sheets are likely to surge higher by 48.4% and 47.5% respectively. Also, imports of plates in coils are expected to grow by 43.4% year-on-year. The only products that may likely witness dip in imports are line pipes and standard pipes, whose imports are expected to register declines by 12.2% and 7.9% respectively.

The imports of finished steel mill products from Vietnam are likely to surge the most, rising by 49.4%. On the contrary, AISI forecasts nearly 21% dip in finished imports from Brazil during 2021.