Imports' Share of Sheet and Plate Markets Stays Strong in October

Imports of less-expensive sheet and plate products continue to make their way into the U.S. market, a steady increase over the past six months as buyers continue to seek relief from record-high steel prices in the U.S. October Commerce Department data show imports’ shares of the U.S. flat products markets at their highest levels in the past 4-5 years and trending up.

Imports’ share of total sheet product shipments into the U.S. was 19.0% in October, a negligible change from 19.2% the month prior. With the slight uptick, driven by a 1.4% rise in domestic shipments of sheet products, foreign sheet remains near its highest mark in nearly four years. Market share of plate product imports rose to 27.6% in October versus 26.8% the month prior, and the top mark in five years.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.