The U.S. imported a total of 2,546,000 net tons of steel in January, up 23% from December final data, according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
The report, which is based on preliminary Census Bureau data, shows that the January total includes 2,060,000 net tons of finished steel, up 31% from December final data.
Annualized total steel imports for 2012 would be 30.6 million net tons, up 7% vs. 2011, while finished steel imports in 2012 would annualize at 24.7 million net tons, up 13% vs. 2011. Finished steel import market share in January was an estimated 23%, up 1 percentage point from full-year 2011 and up 4 percentage points from December.
Key finished steel products with significant import increases in January 2012 compared to December are
· Line pipe (up 60%)
· Cold rolled sheets (up 59%)
· Reinforcing bars (up 58%)
· Oil country goods (up 46%)
· Cut-length plates (up 42%)
· Standard pipe (up 42%)
In January vs. the month before, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from South Korea (314,000 net tons, up 55%), Turkey (142,000 net tons, up 71%), Japan (128,000 net tons, up 0.2%), Germany (107,000 net tons, up 25%) and China (100,000 net tons, up 15%).
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. The Institute comprises 25 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 120 associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.