[Ferro-Alloys.com] Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that steel import permit applications for the month of June totaled 2,003,000 net tons (NT)*. This was a 12.3% decrease from the 2,285,000 permit tons recorded in May and a 10.9% increase from the May final imports total of 1,806,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in June was 1,415,000, down 5.7% from the final imports total of 1,500,000 in May. For the first six months of 2020 (including June SIMA permits and May final imports), total and finished steel imports were 12,999,000 NT and 8,737,000 NT, down 16.9% and 25.3%, respectively, from the same period in 2019. The estimated finished steel import market share in June was 21% and is 19% year-to-date (YTD).

 

Finished steel imports with large increases in June permits vs. the May final imports included light shapes bars (up 77%), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 68%), cold finished bars (up 55%), line pipe (up 39%) and structural pipe and tubing (up 19%). Products with significant year-to date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2019 include light shapes bars (up 25%) and tin free steel (up 20%).

 

In June, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for South Korea (211,000 NT, down 8% from May final), Brazil (86,000 NT, up 66%), Taiwan (72,000 NT, down 13%), Germany (72,000 NT, up 11%) and Japan (57,000 NT, down 44%). Through the first six months of 2020, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,148,000 NT, down 21% from the same period last year), Japan (430,000 NT, down 41%) and Germany (369,000 NT, down 40%).

 

*Note that import permits data are counts of tonnages requested in applications for licenses to import steel mill 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.

 

Source: AISI