Steel Products Prices North America
March Preliminary Steel Imports at 1.75 Million Tons
Written by Brett Linton
April 25, 2020
Preliminary steel import license data was updated late last week, pegging March at 1.75 million net tons of total steel imports, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The preliminary March data shows finished imports at 1.5 million tons, up roughly 12 percent over the previous month. Nearly 230,000 tons of semi-finished product imports are expected to have been imported in March (mostly slabs), up from 150,000 tons in February.
April import licenses collected through the 23rd rose to 2.5 million tons, with 1.4 million tons being semi-finished and 1.1 million tons being finished products; this surge in semi-finished imports is a result of the quarterly quota resets.
Note: The January, April, July, and October import figures are unusually high as a result of buyers seeking to max out quarterly quota limits on semi-finished products. For the remainder of each quarter, final semi-finished imports are significantly lower. Due to these month-to-month swings, SMU has ceased monthly import “trending” projections and now only shows unadjusted figures as reported by the Commerce Department.
The two graphics below show total steel imports through March preliminary census data. To provide the most clarity, we are only showing a two-year snapshot. To see a greater data history and utilize our interactive graphing features, you can visit our website. Contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com if you have any questions.
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
CRU: Longs pricing trends diverge in North, South America
Most longs prices in the US were unchanged this month, except for rebar, which declined by $1.50/cwt ($30/short ton) m/m. While end-use demand is stable, inventories are well-stocked, keeping purchases limited. Domestic availability is sufficient to meet current demand, hindering the appetite for imported material. Meanwhile, prices for scrap remained under pressure in June, with […]
Nucor cuts plate prices by $125/ton, cites ongoing competition
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, and normalized plate with the opening of its August order book.
Nucor cuts HR price for fourth straight week
Nucor lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil by another $10 per short ton (st) for the first week of July. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday that its CSP base price for the week will be $670/st for all of its sheet mills with the exception of California Steel Industries (CSI).
Cliffs sets $720/ton HR price with opening of August books
Cleveland-Cliffs on Tuesday announced its monthly hot-rolled (HR) coil price of $720 per short ton (st) with the official opening of its August order book. The rate is down from last month’s price of $800/st.
CRU: Demand weakness continues to weigh on global sheet markets
Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]