Steel import permits increase 15 percent

Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that steel import permit applications for July totaled 2,323,000 net tons (NT).

This was a 15 percent increase from the 2,023,000 permit tons recorded in June and a 17 percent increase from the June preliminary imports total of 1,981,000 NT. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in July was 1,753,000 NT, up 14 percent from the preliminary imports total in June.

In July, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Korea (198,000 NT, up 30 percent from June), India (146,000 NT, up 182 percent), Japan (127,000 NT, up 79 percent) and China (96,000 NT, up 22 percent). Finished steel import market share in July is at 21 percent.

Finished steel import permits for major product categories that registered significant increases in July include standard rails (up 816 percent), line pipe (up 62 percent) and plates in coils (up 46 percent).