Steel Products Prices North America

Foreign Steel Imports Up in January?

Written by Brett Linton

February 9, 2020

Imports of steel products into the United States appear to have increased in January, based on Commerce Department license data. Precisely how much is difficult to calculate, as quotas on imports of semifinished steel pull licenses forward and skew the data. The 1.7 million tons of semifinished imports licensed in January by companies seeking to max out the quarterly quotas will be offset by much lower totals in the following two months, as they have in previous quarters.

However, on a preliminary basis, finished steel imports in January show a nearly 24 percent increase when comparing January licenses totaling 1.67 million tons to the final December imports of 1.35 million tons. Note that when the final Census data for January is published in the coming weeks, finished steel imports are likely to be more modest, based on the three-month moving average of 1.4 million tons.

Final Census data for December shows steel imports totaling 1.57 million tons, including 1.35 million tons of finished steel products and 219,000 tons of semifinished steel, including slabs purchased by the domestic mills. That’s a 1.7 percent increase in total imports versus the prior month. Products with the biggest increases in imports in December included hot rolled, cold rolled and coiled plate. 

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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