WASHINGTON: Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that the U.S. imported a total of 2,577,000 net tons (NT) of steel in January 2016, including 2,217,000net tons (NT) of finished steel (up 10.0% and 8.8%, respectively, vs. December final data).
Year-to-date total and finished steel imports are 2,577,000 and 2,217,000 net tons (NT), respectively, down 41% and 38% respectively, vs. the same period in 2015. Finished steel import market share was estimated at 26% in January.
Key finished steel products with a significant import increase in January this year compared to December 2015 are oil country goods (up 107%), standard pipe (up 68%), hot rolled sheets (up 53%), line pipe (up 47%), structural pipe and tubing (up 43%), plates in coils (up 25%) and wire drawn (up 12%).
In January, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from Turkey (244,000 NT, up 34% vs. December final), South Korea (241,000 NT, up 2%), Japan (188,000 NT, up 31%), Brazil (154,000 NT, up 124%) and Germany (121,000 NT, down 1%).
