Total US steel imports fell by 20.3pc to 9.18mn nt in the first four months of the year from the same period in 2019.
Citing Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) indicated that a total of 2.77mn nt of steel was imported into the US in April, a rise of 58.2pc from the previous month. Around 1.3mn nt of total imports consisted of finished steel, AISI reported.
The share of finished steel imports in the first four months of the year was around 18pc, according to AISI data, and stood at 21pc in April.
Between January and April 2020, the US imported 5.82mn nt of finished steel, decreasing by 28.2pc from the same four-month period last year, with annualized total steel imports declining by 1.4pc to 27.6mn nt, and finished steel during the same period decreasing by 17.1pc to 17.5mn nt.
Heavy structural shapes, rebars, sheets, and strips and tin plates were among the finished steel products that saw a surge in imports last month, rising by 57pc, 54pc, 31pc, and 14pc, respectively.
South Korea remained the largest exporter of steel to the US from January through April, with shipments of 708,000nt. However, the volume marked a 29pc decline from the same period last year. During the same period under comparison, Japan’s shipments decreased by 45pc to 270,000nt, Germany’s exports to the US fell by 49pc to 233,000nt, and Brazil’s shipments declined by 19pc to 210,000nt. Turkey’s shipments, on the other hand, surged by 50pc to 209,000nt in between January and the end of April 2020 from the same period in 2019.
South Korea was also the largest exporter of steel to the US in April, shipping 161,000nt of steel. However, shipments from the Asian country declined by 22pc compared with March data. Imports from Germany also fell during the month to 64,000nt, declining by 7pc from March. Brazil’s shipments in April surged by 388pc to 69,000nt, followed by a 62pc increase to 53,000nt from Turkey, and a 21pc increase to 68,000nt from Japan compared to the prior month.