WASHINGTON: Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that the U.S. imported a total of 2,146,091 net tons (NT) of finished steel in December 2016. The finished steel imports were up marginally by 0.6% when matched with November final data. The yearly finished steel imports totaled 26,327,188 net tons (NT) in 2016, significantly down by 16.4% when compared with imports during the full year 2015. The finished steel import market share for the whole year 2016 stood at 25%. South Korea was the largest exporter of finished steel mill products to US during 2016. The imports from that country totaled 262,000 net tons (NT) in December, marginally lower by 3.1% when matched with Nov ’16 final data. The full year imports from South Korea declined sharply by 21.6%, falling from 4.854 million NT during full year 2015 to 3.805 million NT during full year 2016.
The second largest supplier of finished steel to the US in 2016 was Turkey. The imports from Turkey too dropped sharply by 14.4% from 2.823 million NT in 2015 to 2.415 million NT in 2016. The imports during Dec ’16 alone dropped considerably by 16.5% from 185,000 NT to 154,000 NT month-on-month. In third place was Japan with exports to the US totaling 1.798 million NT. The exports by the country reduced by almost one-fifth when compared with the whole year exports of 2.259 million NT in 2015. On the other hand, the monthly exports increased by 14.7% from the previous month. The Dec ’16 imports of finished steel products from Japan totaled 115,000 NT as compared with 100,000 NT in November. The imports of finished steel mill products from Germany totaled 86,000 net tons (NT) in December, marginally lower by 0.4% when matched with Nov ’16 final data. The full year imports from Germany declined sharply by 21.3%, falling from 1.515 million NT during full year 2015 to 1.192 million NT during 2016. The finished steel imports from Taiwan too declined by 10.1% from 1.205 million NT in 2015 to 1.083 million NT in 2016. The imports during Dec ’16 alone surged higher by 71.1% from 86,000 NT in November to 147,000 NT.
The imports from Vietnam totaled 57,000 net tons (NT) in December, considerably lower by 52.8% when matched with Nov ’16 final data. The imports had totaled 120,000 NT in November. The full year imports from Vietnam skyrocketed by over 330%, rising sharply from 222,000 NT during full year 2015 to 960,000 NT in 2016. The exports by China plunged by nearly 64% to 862,000 NT in 2016 when compared with the whole year exports of 2.374 million NT in 2015. On the other hand, the monthly exports increased marginally by 9.6% from the previous month. The Dec ’16 imports of finished steel products from China totaled 63,000 NT as compared with 57,000 NT in November. The key finished steel imports during the entire year 2016 were Ingots, Billets and Slabs (6,648,625 NT), Sheets and Strip Galvanized Hot Dipped (3,096,477 NT) and Hot Rolled Sheets (2,900,012 NT). AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 19 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and approximately 125 associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.