Steel import permit applications totaled 952,000 net tons for the month of August, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the AISI report shows a 3% decrease for the August total from the 978,000 permit tons recorded in July 2009 and a 3% decrease from the July preliminary imports total of 985,000 net tons.
Import permit tonnage for finished steel in August was 801,000 net tons, a decrease of 9% from the preliminary imports total of 884,000 net tons in July and the lowest finished import permits monthly total posted in 2009.
August 2009 total steel import permit tons would annualize at 15,841,000 net tons, down 50% from the 31,927,000 net tons imported in 2008. Finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 14,613,000 net tons, a 44% decrease from the 25,956,000 net tons imported in 2008.
In August, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for Korea (84,000 net tons, up 14% from July), Japan (38,000 net tons, down 56%), Brazil (37,000 net tons, up 365%), and China (32,000 net tons, up 9%). Finished steel import market share in August is estimated at 15% and at 24% year-to-date (YTD).
Finished steel import permits for products that registered increases in August vs. the July preliminary include:
- Wire rods, +114%
- Hot rolled sheets, +55%
- Cold rolled sheets, +40%
Due to the gains for hot and cold rolled sheet, total sheet product permits increased 24% vs. the July preliminary figures.
“Steel import aggregate totals remain relatively low. But imports year-to-date are still taking nearly a fourth of the U.S. market,” said Thomas J. Gibson, AISI President and CEO, in response to the August data. “Domestic steel mills are operating at only 55% of capacity. We are just now seeing the first tentative signs of U.S. manufacturing growth in the last year and a half. It is therefore critical that dumped and subsidized imports not be allowed to undermine what is likely to be a very fragile economic recovery.”
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. The Institute comprises 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 138 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.