Foreign Imports Licenses Start Slow in June

This first estimate of U.S. steel imports for June shows foreign purchases trending further downward. The rate of Commerce Department import licenses, extrapolated out through the end of the month, forecasts total steel imports of less than 2.5 million tons in June, well below the average of around 2.7 million tons.

Steel imports spiked in April at 3.3 million tons in large part due to a big jump in imports of semi-finished products by domestic steel mills. Slab imports by U.S. steelmakers moderated to 697,000 tons in May, based on the preliminary estimate, and are on track to fall below 500,000 tons in June if the current trend persists. The Trump administration’s decision to remove the Section 232 tariffs on steel from Canada and Mexico effective May 20 does not appear to have opened the floodgates, as many had feared, at least not so far.