Steel Products Prices North America

January Prepainted Imports Up

Written by Brett Linton

March 13, 2014

January prepainted flat rolled steel imports increased over both the previous month and the same month one year prior. The four prepainted products tracked by Steel Market Update rose a combined 18,188 net tons (NT) or 86.6 percent over the previous month and were up 16,236 NT or 70.7 percent over January 2013 tonnage. In light of the “rumors” regarding possible dumping suits on coated steel you may want to pay special attention on galvanized and Galvalume data shown below.

As you can see by our table below – prepainted cold rolled (CR) imports rose by 1,486 NT or 38.5 percent from December to January, above both the 3-month moving average (3MMA) and the 12-month moving average (12MMA) calculated through January. Compared to levels one year ago, prepainted CR imports were up 1,475 NT or 38.2 percent.

Prepainted galvanized (GI) imports in January increased by 3,776 NT or 35.8 percent over the previous month and were above the 3MMA but below the 12MMA. Compared to January of last year, prepainted GI imports were up 4,723 NT or 49.2 percent.

January prepainted electro-galvanized (EG) imports jumped by 4,145 NT or 984.6 percent from December to January, well above both the 3MMA and 12MMA. Compared to the same month one year ago, prepainted EG imports were up 3,532 NT or 341.6 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.

The largest jump tonnage wise goes to prepainted Galvalume (AZ) imports, increasing by 8,781 NT or 141.8 percent over the previous month and above both the 3MMA and 12MMA. Compared to levels one year ago, prepainted AZ imports were up 6,506 NT or 76.8 percent. (Source: US Department of Commerce)

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{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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