• Skip to main content

    Analysis

    Steel imports slip 10% from August to September

    Written by Brett Linton


    According to preliminary Census data released by the Commerce Department, September marked the lowest month for steel imports this year.

    September’s preliminary count shows 2.13 million short tons (st) of steel products entered the country last month. This is down 10% from August (2.38 million st) and 25% below the multi-year high we saw in May (2.85 million st). The left graph in Figure 1 displays a history of steel imports by month.

    Brett Linton

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Latest in Analysis

    SMU Survey: Current Buyers’ Sentiment rises slightly as Future Sentiment dips

    SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index ticked up slightly this week, while Future Sentiment fell, according to our latest market survey. Every two weeks, SMU polls thousands of steel-industry executives, asking them to rate their companies’ chances of success today and also three to six months down the road. We use their responses to calculate our proprietary Current and Future Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices, measures tracked since 2008.

    galvalume steel coil

    SMU Survey: Mill willingness to negotiate price at lowest levels since 2021

    The majority of steel buyers responding to our latest market survey reported that mills continue to hold a firm grip on prices. The share of buyers reporting that mills were negotiable fell this week to the lowest rate seen in over five years. Every two weeks, SMU surveys service center and manufacturer buyers asking if mills are negotiable on new spot sheet and plate orders. In this week’s survey, just 3% of respondents said mills were willing to talk price to secure an order (Figure 1). This is down 11 percentage points from our mid-October survey.