Update on U.S. Steel Imports

November steel import figures were finalized at 1.37 million net tons, down 9 percent from one month prior, but up 9 percent over September’s 11-year low of 1.26 million tons. December import licenses are now at 2.10 million tons, the highest monthly level seen since July. January import licenses are currently at 1.03 million tons, and will continue to fluctuate over the next few weeks as data is processed. Therefore, the analysis below will only focus on imports through December license data.