Steel Products Prices North America

Prepainted Flat Rolled Imports down Overall in December

Written by Brett Linton

February 13, 2014

Prepainted flat rolled imports were mixed in December over November, with imports increasing for prepainted galvanized and electro-galvanized but decreasing for prepainted cold rolled and Galvalume. Overall, the four prepainted products tracked by SMU fell a combined 1,216 net tons (NT) or 5.5 percent over the previous month. Compared to the same month one year ago, combined prepainted imports were down 21.8 percent on average for select products.

As you can see by our table below – prepainted cold rolled (CR) imports declined by 349 NT or 8.3 percent from November to December, slightly below both the 3-month moving average (3MMA) and the 12-month moving average (12MMA) calculated through December. Compared to levels one year ago, prepainted CR imports were up 199 NT or 5.4 percent.

Prepainted galvanized (GI) imports increased slightly by 19 NT or 0.2 percent from December to November but are at a level significantly below both the 3MMA and 12MMA. Compared to one year ago, prepainted GI imports are down 1,990 NT or 15.9 percent.

December prepainted electro-galvanized (EG) imports rose by 352 NT or 510.1 percent month-over-month, well below the 3MMA and slightly below the 12MMA. Compared to one year ago, prepainted EG imports are up 225 NT or 114.8 percent. Note that prepainted EG imports are much smaller than the other products in this comparison, and fluctuations in imports from China tend to skew the figures from month to month.

Prepainted Galvalume (AZ) imports declined by 1,238 NT or 16.7 percent over last month. December tonnage was above both the 3MMA and 12MMA. Tonnage imported in December was down by 4,285 NT or 40.9 percent over the same month one year ago. (Source: US Department of Commerce)

Below is an interactive graphic showing our full history of prepainted imports. Note that this graphic is only available to those who are reading this article on our website. If you have questions about this or need help logging in to the website, please contact us at info@steelmarketupdate.com or by calling (800) 432 3475.

{amchart id=”104″ Prepainted Flat Rolled Imports}

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

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