Steel Products Prices North America

December Steel Imports on Pace for 2.4 Million Ton Month
Written by Brett Linton
December 18, 2018
This afternoon, the U.S. Department of Commerce released the latest license data for foreign steel imports arriving during the month of December. The trend is for imports to drop from 2.6 million net tons in November (after dropping from 3.2 million tons in October) to just shy of 2.4 million tons in December. This is based on import license data through the first 18 days of December.
Affecting the number is the limited tonnage coming in for semi-finished steels (mostly slabs). We believe the lack of slabs is due to Brazil having reached their quota for calendar year 2018.
When you look at finished steel, which is what the manufacturers and distributors actually buy (slabs go to steel mills), imports are trending toward the 12-month moving average of 2.1 million to 2.2 million tons.
The products we follow on a regular basis are shown below with no real surprises (up or down) in the trends for December.
To see an interactive history of total steel imports (through October final data), visit our website here. If you need assistance logging into or navigating the website, please contact info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.

Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet Slips Again on Strike, But Is a Bottom in Sight?
Sheet prices slipped again this week on news of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike and continued caution among some consumers.
HRC vs. Galv Price Spread Widened This Summer
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized sheet base prices widened throughout the summer as hot rolled prices declined faster than those of galvanized.
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet Slips Again on UAW Strike Fears
Sheet prices fell across the board ahead of what many market participants predict will be a strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) later this week.

Nucor Lowers Plate Prices by $40/t
Nucor Corp. will lower plate prices by $40 per ton ($2 per cwt) with the opening of its October order book.
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet Prices Move Lower, No Bottom Yet
Sheet prices have fallen this week, after a small pause last week when prices saw mixed results. Tags have now been largely trending lower since July.