Washington, D.C. – Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that steel import permit applications for the month of May totaled 2,611,000 net tons (NT)*. This was a 1.3% decrease from the 2,645,000 permit tons recorded in April and a 4.4% decrease from the April final imports total of 2,730,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in May was 2,287,000, up 1.0% from the final imports total of 2,263,000 in April. For the first five months of 2022 (including May SIMA permits and April final imports), total and finished steel imports were 13,824,000 NT and 11,168,000 NT, up 17.2% and 40.0%, respectively, from the same period in 2021. The estimated finished steel import market share in May was 24% and is 24% year-to-date (YTD).
Steel imports with large increases in May permits vs. April final imports include reinforcing bars (up 95%), steel piling (up 155%), standard pipe (up 16%), hot rolled sheets (up 13%) and hot rolled bars (up 12%). Products with significant year-to date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2021 include wire rods (up 130%), oil country goods (up 84%), cold rolled sheets (up 75%), tin plate (up 50%) and sheets and strip galvanized hot dipped (up 36%).
In May, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada (597,000 NT, down 2% from April final), Mexico (462,000 NT, up 18%), South Korea (241,000 NT, down 4%), Turkey (152,000 NT, up 67%) and Brazil (113,000 NT, down 53%). Through the first five months of 2022, the largest suppliers were Canada (2,909,000 NT, no change from the same period last year), Mexico (2,413,000 NT, up 44%) and Brazil (1,340,000 NT, down 40%).
*Note that import permits data are counts of tonnages requested in applications for licenses to import steel products and are not actual import volumes. For a number of reasons, permit tonnages may understate or overstate actual import volumes for the month, preliminary estimates of which will be available later this month
AISI serves as the voice of the American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI’s membership is comprised of integrated and electric arc furnace steelmakers, and associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI’s website at www.steel.org. Follow AISI on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (@AISISteel) or Instagram.
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