U.S. Finished Steel Imports Posted 19% Decline Till July

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) announced that the total steel imports by the U.S. were 2.690 million net tons in July this year. This is based on the monthly imports data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. The imports were up by almost 92%, compared with the June 2020 final imports.

The finished steel imports during the month totalled 1.367 million net tons, marginally higher by 3.6% upon comparison with the final finished steel imports of 1.348 million net tons. The largest offshore suppliers of finished steel in July this year were South Korea, Brazil and China.

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Through the first seven months of 2020, the country recorded total and finished steel imports of 15.088 million net tons and 10.010 million net tons respectively. The year-to-date imports of total and finished steel reported sharp declines by 19.2% and 26.1% respectively, over the previous year.

The imports of reinforcing bars and tin free steel surged higher significantly in July, higher by nearly 61% each. The other finished steel products to witness notable volume jump were heavy structural shapes and tin plates, whose imports were up by 51% and 43% respectively, AISI said.