Steel Products Prices North America
Preliminary Data Shows Finished Steel Imports Up in July
Written by Brett Linton
August 30, 2020
Recently released preliminary steel import data shows July imports totaling 2.69 million net tons, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is up nearly twofold over final June import figures, primarily due to the quarterly reset on semi-finished import quotas.
Taking semifinished products out of the picture, imports of finished steels rose 7 percent from June to July; 1.42 million tons of finished steel products are reported to have been imported, up 93,000 tons from June figures.
August import licenses are currently just over 1.09 million tons in total, with 1.01 million tons being finished products and 77,000 tons being semifinished.
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 semifinished products. For the remainder of each quarter, final semifinished 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 three graphics below show steel imports through July preliminary Census data. To provide the most clarity, we are only showing a limited time line in each graphic. 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
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