Prices
January 13, 2015
Net Imports of Sheet Products through November 2014
Written by Brett Linton
This is another article which generally goes strictly to our Premium level members. Steel Market Update looks at data in a number of different ways. We look at imports on a weekly basis and report on the trends for license data, we look at monthly data and how it relates to the prior month and previous year and we look at the data from an annual basis. For our Premium customers we take the time to evaluate imports and exports on a three month moving average. We feel this provides a more detailed or “real” picture as to what is happening which can then be compared with other time periods. The bottom line is we are trying to provide our Premium members the best data possible on trade and its impact on demand at the steel mills.
Net imports equals imports minus exports. We regard this as an important look at the overall trade picture and its effect on demand at the mill level. Figure 1 shows that net sheet product imports on a three month moving average, (3MMA) basis increased in November to a level double that which existed before the recession. The deterioration in net was almost entirely an import effect, exports have been fairly consistent though drifting down slightly since Q2 2012.
