Finished Import Market Share YTD at 20%

 

Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. imported a total of 3,010,000 net tons (NT) of steel in July 2021, including 2,060,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (up 2.8% and 0.5%, respectively, vs. June final data). Through the first seven months of 2021, total and finished steel imports are 17,729,000 and 12,086,000 net tons (NT), up 17.4% and 20.6%, respectively, vs. the same period in 2020. Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2021 would be 30.4 and 20.7 million NT, up 38.0% and 28.4%, respectively, vs. 2020. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 21% in July and is estimated at 20% over the first seven months of 2021.

 

Key finished steel products with a significant increase in imports in July compared to June are sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 48%), sheets and strip galvanized hot dipped (up 29%), mechanical tubing (up 25%), tin plate (up 16%), heavy structural shapes (up 14%) and cut lengths plates (up 11%). Products with a significant year-to-date (YTD) increase vs. the same period in 2020 were hot rolled sheets (up 76%), plates in coils (up 52%), cut lengths plates (up 44%), sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 41%), wire rods (up 40%), wire drawn (up 22%), hot rolled bars (up 17%), heavy structural shapes (up 16%), tin plate (up 13%), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 12%) and cold rolled sheet (up 12%).

 

In July, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (293,000 NT, up 7% from June final), Vietnam (101,000 NT, up 165%), Taiwan (77,000 NT, down 8%), Germany (70,000 NT, down 27%) and Japan (67,000 NT, down 44%). For the first seven months of 2021, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,624,000 NT, up 27% vs. the same period in 2020), Japan (590,000 NT, up 22%), Turkey (485,000 NT, up 29%), Germany (480,000 NT, up 14%) and Taiwan (434,000 NT, up 17%).