Steel Products
July Imports Fall Back 15% From June’s 12-Month High
Written by Laura Miller
August 29, 2023
The drop in imports from June to July was not as steep as license applications had suggested, but imports were still down both month on month (MoM) and year on year (YoY).
The US imported 2,371,359 net tons of steel products in July, according to a preliminary count by the US Department of Commerce. This was a 15% decline from June’s recent high of 2,797,419 tons. Recall that June’s imports were at a 12-month high.
Compared to year-ago levels, July’s imports were down 11%.

Looking at imports on a three-month moving average basis to smooth out the month-to-month fluctuations, we can see that imports have been fairly steady for most of this year but are still down from the elevated levels seen mid-2021 through mid-2022.

While imports of semifinished steel dropped by a third from June to 523,719 tons in July, they were more than a third above year-ago levels.
Finished steel imports, meanwhile, were 8% lower MoM and 20% lower YoY at 1,847,641 tons in July.

Flat-rolled steel imports declined for a second consecutive month, coming in at 814,701 tons in July. This was a 12% MoM decline and a 19% YoY fall.
While overall flat rolled imports were down MoM, cold-rolled sheet and galvanized sheet and strip imports registered rises of 14% and 2%, respectively. Tin plate imports shot up 26%.
Imports of hot-rolled sheet saw a huge MoM drop, falling 41% from June to 147,446 tons in July.

Pipe and tube imports fell to a 17-month low of 444,099 tons in July.
OCTG imports were down markedly in May, June, and July after having been elevated for the prior six months.
Imports of structural pipe and tube, at 30,757 tons in July, were at a two-year low, and standard pipe imports of 58,035 tons were at a 20-month low.
Mechanical tubing imports, meanwhile, were at almost a two-year high at 63,827 tons in July.

The chart below provides further detail into imports by product, highlighting high-volume steel products.


Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Steel Products

Galv buyers less optimistic about short-term market
“It was a little more of a seller's market as contractors seemed to be protecting themselves against a potential run up in prices," one buyer said.

SMU flat-rolled market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

US, offshore CRC prices continue to fall
US cold-rolled (CR) coil prices were down again this week, slipping six weeks in a row and seeing the sharpest drop-off since last July.

Asian HR remains much cheaper than US, EU product
Domestic hot-rolled (HR) coil prices fell this week, now down seven of the last eight weeks.

April service center shipments and inventories report
Flat rolled = 57.6 shipping days of supply Plate = 54.5 shipping days of supply Flat rolled US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply edged up in April, as shipments slowed. At the end of April, US service centers carried 57.6 shipping days of supply, according to adjusted SMU data. This is up from 56.4 shipping […]