Steel imports decreased in September

According to data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the US imported a total of 2,185,000 net tonnes (NT) of steel in September, including 1,579,000 net tonnes (NT) of finished steel.

Total and finished steel imports decreased by 9.8 per cent and 15.0 per cent year-to-date, respectively, compared to 2022. In September 2023, total and finished steel imports decreased by 12.4% and 15.4%, respectively, compared with October 2022. The estimated finished steel import market share was 20 per cent in September and is expected to be 22 per cent in the first nine months of 2023.

The largest suppliers in September were Canada (537,000 NT, down 2% from August), Brazil (452,000 NT, up 116%), Mexico (358,000 NT, down 2%), South Korea (331,000 NT, up 30%) and Japan (66,000 NT, down 30%). For the 12 months from October 2022 to September 2023, the largest suppliers were Canada (NT 6,865,000, down 1% from the previous 12 months), Mexico (NT 4,425,000, down 22%), Brazil (NT 3,519,000, up 28%), South Korea (NT 2,634,000, down 10%) and Japan (NT 1,217,000, down 2%).

Major steel products with significant import increases in September from August included hot-rolled steel sheet (up 49 per cent) and ingots, billets and slabs (up 45 per cent). Products with significantly higher imports in the 12-month period from October 2022 to September 2023 compared with the previous 12-month period include line pipe (up 19%), oil country commodities (up 16%) and cut-to-length sheets (up 10%). 16%).