Steel Products
2012 Imports Up 17%
Written by John Packard
January 14, 2013
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce released final census data for the month of November and preliminary census data for the month of December. Based on that data, SMU forecast 2012 imports will be 17 percent higher than what was imported one year earlier. A large portion of those tons were imported by domestic steel mills. The domestic mills imported almost 7.5 million tons of semi-finished (mostly slabs)
When looking at flat rolled, only hot rolled did not add double digits to its import totals compared to the prior year. Flat rolled growth was led by galvanized which grew its penetration by almost 37 percent averaging 166,526 tons per month.
November Imports Up 4%
Total November imports rose by 4 percent led by a 39 percent surge in domestic mill imported semi-finished (mostly slabs). Having a surge of semi-finished is normal based on past historical trends (see graph below).
Flat rolled products were mixed with hot rolled coil down 13 percent and cut length plates down 34 percent compared to the previous month. On the flip side, cold rolled imports rose close to 41 percent, Galvalume by 43.5 percent, plates in coil form by 19 percent and galvanized by 3 percent.
December Projected Down 289,000 Tons
Total tonnage for December is projected to be down 289,000 tons compared to November. December tons are also expected to be lower than both the 3-month and 12-month moving averages. Two items imported by the domestic steel mills continue to surge during the month of December – semi-finished broke through 700,000 tons and hot rolled rose to 236,404 tons. All of the other flat rolled items dropped below November and the 3-month and 12-month moving average.
OCTG and Line Pipe Affected by “Dumping” Talk?
Not shown in our tables was an easing in the imports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and line pipe as the threats of dumping suits begin to sink in with foreign suppliers. November imports on both products were down slightly on both products. Imports of OCTG dropped from 266,127 metric tons in October to 222,649 metric tons in November and 137,607 metric tons for December. The bad news on OCTG is for the first 11 days of January there are already 140,835 metric tons of import licenses of OCTG.
Line pipe imports dropped from 193,336 metric tons in October, 167,320 metric tons in November before rising to 214,462 metric tons in December.

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products

US HR prices surge ahead of offshore tags
Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices rose further in the US this week, while tags abroad saw minor gains. The result: the margin US hot band holds over imports on a landed basis increased.

SMU scrap market survey results now available
SMU’s inaugural ferrous scrap market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past flat-rolled survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or […]

SMU flat-rolled market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

US HR prices pulling away from offshore tags
Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices moved up again in the US this week, while tags abroad were largely flat. The result: the margin US hot band holds over imports on a landed basis widened further.

ArcelorMittal to start building Calvert NGO electrical steel line this year
ArcelorMittal announced on Thursday that it will begin the construction of its new $1.2-billion electrical steel mill in Alabama later this year. The steelmaker said it is proceeding with plans to build the new greenfield mill near its existing AM/NS joint venture in Calvert, Ala. The ArcelorMittal Calvert plant will have an annealing pickling line, […]