Import Permits Increase At End of 2019, According to Commerce Department’s SIMA Data

Source: AISI

1-minute read

According to U.S. Commerce Department data, the U.S.  steel import applications for the month of December 2019 totaled 2,308,000 net tons (NT). This is 12.3% more tons than the 2,055,000 recorded in November, as well as 47.8% more than November’s final imports level of 1,561,000 NT.

Import data for finished steel in December was 1,388,000 NT, which is up 4.2% from the 1,331,000 NT reported in November. For full year 2019, total and finished steel imports concluded at 28,660,000 NT and 21,082,000. This is a decrease of 15.0% and 17.9%, respectively, from the imports data in full year 2018. Estimated market share for finished steel in December remained around 15%, and is  19% for the year, as estimated in past reports.

The finished steel products with a significant increase in imports between  November and December were: hot rolled sheets (up 38%); tin free steel (up 37%); plate in coils (up 29%); structual pipe and tubing (up 24%); and line pipe (up 14%).

The finished steel imports in December 2019 originated primarily in South Korea (199K NT, up 6% from November), Japan (81K NT, down 4%), Germany (81K NT, up 48%), Brazil (35K NT, up 221%) and The Netherlands (30K NT, down 58%). Similarly, for full year 2019, the largest volume of finished steel imports originated in South Korea (2,606K NT, 6% from 2018), Japan (1,256K NT, down 9%), and Germany (1,046K NT, down 22%).

 

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