Sunday, 07 Feb 2010
Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis data, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported that steel import permit applications for the month of January totaled 1,537,000 net tons. This was a 12% increase from the 1,377,000 permit net tons recorded in December 2009 and a 10% increase from the December preliminary imports total of 1,396,000 net tons.

Import permit tonnage for finished steel in January was 1,179,000 net tons, which was an increase of 6% from the preliminary imports total of 1,119,000 net tons in December. January 2010 total and finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 18,447,000 net tons and 14,153,000 net tons, up 14% and down 0.1%, respectively, from the 16,201,000 net tons and 14,165,000 net tons imported in 2009.

In January 2010, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for
1. Korea - 139,000 net tons up 34% MoM
2. Japan - 95,000 net tons down 7% MoM
3. China - 68,000 net tons up 45% MoM
4. Italy - 52,000 net tons up 5% MoM
5. UK - 39,000 net tons up 97% MoM

Finished steel import market share in January is estimated at 17%

Finished steel import permits for major product categories that registered significant increases in January vs. the December 2009 preliminary include oil tubular country goods (up 97%), standard rails (up 77%), heavy structural shapes (up 44%), line pipe (32%) and standard pipe (up 16%).

Mr Thomas J Gibson president & CEO of AISI said “The imports situation over the last several months has not changed very much. Import market share is staying at or just below 20% and the three top offshore suppliers of finished steel continue to be Asian nations. The key thing we remain concerned about is that the domestic steel industry and manufacturing at large in the United States are only now in the beginning stages of a long, slow, fragile recovery. Therefore, close vigilance against dumped and subsidized imports of individual products from individual countries must be maintained.”