In January-October, total steel imports into the US fell 22.2pc to 19.3mn nt while finished steel imports were short by 26pc at 13.6mn nt, compared with the same period in 2019.However, imports of tin free steel and light shapes bars rose by 24pc and 19pc, respectively, in this period.
US steel import permits remained virtually unchanged in October at 1.643mn nt (1.49mn mt), compared with 1.642mn nt a month ago, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). However, final imports in September stood at 1.26mn nt, AISI noted, referring to Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data.
Import permit tonnage for finished steel rose 4.4pc in October to 1.22mn nt from September’s concluding total of 1.17mn nt. This uptick was attributed to a 126pc increase in oil & country goods and a 59pc increase in wire rod while other categories, such as rebar, cold rolled sheets and heavy structural shapes saw a rise of more than 40pc in permits as well.
In the first ten months, the largest offshore finished steel suppliers were South Korea at 1.66mn nt, falling by 25pc from a year prior; Japan at 663,000nt, declining by 39pc; and Germany at 587,000nt, down by 36pc.
Applications for finished steel import permits in October against September’s final imports rose by 12pc to 139,000nt from South Korea and increased 31pc to 77,000nt from Japan. Applications from Germany climbed 21pc to 62,000nt while China’s increased by 22pc to 24,000nt. Applications from Turkey surged by five times to 42,000nt.