Steel Markets
Import licenses bounce back to five-month high in December
Written by Laura Miller
January 3, 2024
After falling in November, steel imports appear to have bounced back to a five-month high in December.
Licenses to import steel into the US totaled 2,308,235 net tons, according to a license count from the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration as of Jan. 1.
Note that license counts can differ from preliminary and final figures, as import licenses are required to be obtained before actual importation occurs.
December’s license count is 14% higher than November’s preliminary count of 2,109,590 tons. For 2023, the fewest amounts of imports came in during the month of November.
Compared to the same month last year, December licenses are 5% higher than December 2022’s imports of 2,203,980 tons.

Semi-finished steel imports rose 8.5% month on month (MoM) to 560,487 tons – the highest monthly amount in the final quarter of 2023. The license count shows Brazilian slab shipments remaining high and slab shipments from Canada and Mexico rising.
Finished steel import licenses, meanwhile, rose 16% from November to 1,747,748 tons. Compared to the last month of 2022, however, December’s finished steel import license count was 7.1% lower.
The flat-rolled and pipe and tube product categories showed significant MoM increases.
December flat rolled licenses of 853,424 tons were 12.8% higher MoM and 6.1% higher year on year.
Pipe and tube imports of 447,212 tons jumped from November’s recent low of 286,537 tons to 447,212 tons of licenses for December. While the December license count was at a six-month high, it was still 28% lower than December 2022’s final tally.

We’ll take a closer look at December imports when preliminary figures are released later this month.

Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Steel Markets

CMC looks beyond Arizona micro-mill woes to long-term viability of construction mart
Despite the economic and geopolitical upheaval of the last five years, CMC President and CEO Peter Matt points out that the construction market has been an essential element of the way forward.

US importers face stricter rules under revamped S232 tariffs
“CBP expects full compliance from the trade community for accurate reporting and payment of the additional duties. CBP will take enforcement action on non-compliance," the agency said in a March 7 bulletin.

Steel exports rebound in January
US steel exports recovered to a five-month high in January after having fallen to a two-year low in December. This growth follows four consecutive months of declining exports.

Construction spending drops marginally in January
Construction spending edged down slightly in January, slipping for the first time in four months. The US Census Bureau estimated spending at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $2,196 billion in January, down 0.2% from December’s downward revised rate. The January figure is 3.3% higher than a year ago. January’s result, despite the slight erosion, […]

HVAC equipment shipments slow in December but strong annually
Shipments of heating and cooling equipment in the US fell to an 11-month low in December, according to the latest data released by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).