• Skip to main content

    Prices

    July 7, 2014

    May Preliminary Imports Surpass 4 Million Tons

    Written by Brett Linton

    The latest steel import census data has preliminary imports at 4,016,437 net tons in May, the highest tonnage levels seen since 2006. May represents a 7.4 percent increase over the previous month and an increase of 1,178,145 tons or 41.5 percent compared to May 2013. Foreign steel now represents 28 percent of the steel market.

    Semi-finished steel (mostly slabs) was 25 percent of the total tons imported. This is important to note since semi-finished steels are brought in by the domestic steel industry to be rolled and shipped to domestic customers.

    Brett Linton

    Brett Linton is a digital operations analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Latest in Prices

    Mills seek more scrap after lower prices fail to attract tons

    Several mills that bought October scrap early last week are still asking for additional supplies, scrap market participants said. The reason: the mills' initial prices did not attract enough of the raw material, they said. A trading source based in northern Ohio said three mills have contacted his firm seeking offers for additional tons. He said the mills asked for offers even if prices were higher than their original buys last week.