U.S. Steel Imports Ebbed Out

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) announced that the steel imports by the U.S. totalled 2.513 million net tons in the month of May this year. This is based on the monthly imports data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. The imports were down by almost 4.8%, compared with the April 2021 final imports.

The finished steel imports during the month totalled 1.845 million net tons, significantly up by 11.3% upon comparison with the final finished steel imports during the prior month. The finished steel import market share was estimated at 20% during the month. The largest offshore suppliers of finished steel in May this year were South Korea, Japan and Germany, AISI data said.

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The imports of tin plates and wire rods edged higher significantly in May, the volumes of which were up by nearly 240% and 57% respectively. The other finished steel product to witness notable volume jump was hot dipped galvanized sheets and strips, whose imports were up by 24% over the month before that.

Through the first five months of the current year, the country recorded total and finished steel imports of 11.780 million net tons and 7.966 million net tons respectively. The year-to-date imports of total steel were up modestly by 7.1%, whereas those of finished steel were up by 8.8%, compared to the corresponding five-month period in 2020.

The AISI estimates the annualized total and finished steel imports for the whole year 2021 at 28.3 million net tons and 19.1 million net tons respectively.