Trade Cases
December marks second slowest month for imports in 2023
Written by Laura Miller
January 26, 2024
December’s import level was slightly lower than an earlier license count had suggested, resulting in December marking the second-slowest month for imports in 2023.
The US Commerce Department’s preliminary count shows 2,083,360 short tons (st) of steel products entered the country in the last month of 2023. This was a 2% increase from November’s final tally of 2,033,422 st, but a 5% drop from December 2022.
Imports as a 3MMA
Looking at imports on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis to smooth out the variability in monthly readings, we can see imports slowing in the latter part of 2023.
Semi-finished and finished steel
Imports of semi-finished steel slowed 11% from November to 456,254 st in December. While slab shipments from Brazil declined to a four-month low of 179,658 st, slab imports from Mexico were at a three-month high of 63,255 st. Of note in the data is 11,379 st of slab imports from Japan in December compared to no slabs coming from that Asian country in the prior four months.
Meanwhile, finished steel imports, at 1,627,106 st in December, increased 7% month on month (m/m) from November’s 33-month low.
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) estimated the finished steel import market share to be 20% in December and 21% for all of 2023.
Flat-rolled steel
After falling to a seven-month low in November, flat-rolled steel imports bounced back to 828,025 st in December – a three-month high.
Hot-rolled sheet imports were also at a three-month high on noticeably higher shipments from Canada, South Korea, and Brazil. Canada’s hot rolled shipments to the US were at a six-month high of 105,408 st.
Significant suppliers of cold-rolled sheet in December included Canada, Australia, South Korea, Brazil, and the Netherlands. Shipments from Mexico, meanwhile, were at a recent low of just 3,001 st.
December imports of galvanized sheet and strip were at a seven-month high of 191,914 st. The countries supplying the most galvanized in December were Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Brazil, and South Africa.
Pipe & tube
December’s preliminary count of pipe and tube imports, at 372,471 st, was 8% lower than the license count of 405,705 st.
After hitting a three-year low of 78,163 st in November, OCTG imports jumped to 118,682 st in the last month of the year. Shipments from South Korea, Austria, and Brazil were considerably higher.
Imports by product
The chart below provides further detail into imports by product, highlighting high-volume steel products.
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Trade Cases
Mills allege ‘critical circumstances’ in CORE trade case vs. South Africa, UAE
"Recent activity in the marketplace strongly indicates that these imports are being rushed into the United States in an effort to avoid the imposition of antidumping duties," petitioners said.
European Commission eyes retaliation vs. Trump steel tariffs: Report
The European Commission is looking into making current quotas on steel imports stricter as a countermeasure to President Trump’s recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the US, according to an article in Reuters.
Trump could levy tariffs on auto imports in April: Report
President Donald Trump said last week that he could place tariffs on auto imports, according to an article in Politico.
Section 232 tariffs are headed downstream
The Trump administration has revealed the list of derivative steel products being added to the Section 232 tariff list.
Leibowitz: In Trump’s brave new world of tariffs, what will stick and what will courts challenge?
With a chronic trade deficit, the administration will continue to cite more tariffs as necessary. This is in error, as noted above. Yet the base of President Trump’s support does not see it that way. More tariffs are possible. But the only way to reduce the US trade deficit substantially is to close the gap between savings and investment in the United States.