Steel import permits down in May

Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that steel import permit applications for the month of May totaled 2,579,000 net tons (NT). This was a 6 percent decrease from the 2,746,000 permit tons recorded in April and a 2 percent increase from the April preliminary imports total of 2,535,000 NT.

Import permit tonnage for finished steel in May was 1,768,000 NT, down 8 percent from the preliminary imports total of 1,915,000 NT in April. The estimated finished steel import market share in May was to 21 percent, the same as the 2011 YTD market share.

In May, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Korea (222,000 NT, down 28 percent from April), Japan (145,000 NT, up 36 percent), China (114,000 NT, up 19 percent), Turkey (80,000 NT, down 32 percent) and Germany (77,000 NT, up 6 percent).

Finished steel import permits for major products that registered large increases in May vs. the April preliminary include wire rods (up 26 percent) and oil country goods (up 14 percent).