Steel Products Prices North America

Steel Imports Down in March, Trending Up in April, May

Written by Brett Linton

May 9, 2019

Steel imports into the U.S. in March, totaling 2.26 million tons, were down by 7 percent from the prior month led by a sharp decline in semi-finished imports, according to final Census data from the Department of Commerce. It does not appear the downtrend is continuing, however.

Based on the latest license data, imports totaled nearly 2.9 million tons in April. The biggest part of that increase appears to be imports of semi-finished steels, mostly slabs purchased by the domestic mills, which more than doubled from the prior month to around 845,000 tons, based on the preliminary data.

While it’s still early in May, taking the average daily license data and multiplying it out for the entire month suggests that imports could trend even higher this month to over 3 million tons. Semi-finished imports are trending flat, but finished steel product licenses are up significantly nine days into the month.

Below are two graphs covering steel imports through final March 2019 figures. You will need to view the graphs on our website to use their interactive features; you can do so by clicking here. If you need assistance logging into or navigating the website, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.

US Steel Imports

US Steel Imports

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior 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.

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