Steel imports slip 10% from August to September

Import trends

Looking at imports on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis can smooth out the monthly variability and better highlight trends. On a 3MMA basis, September imports eased to an eight-month low of 2.31 million st. The September 3MMA is down less than 1% month on month (m/m) but is up 4% from the start of this year. The 3MMA at this time last year was slightly lower at 2.28 million st. The right graph in Figure 1 shows total steel imports on a 3MMA basis.

Imports by category

Preliminary data shows that import volumes eased across all categories from August to September (Figure 2):

• Semifinished steel imports dropped 18% to 429,000 st.
• Flat-rolled steel imports declined 8% to 914,000 st.
• Pipe and tube imports eased 3% to 379,000 st.
• Long product imports fell 12% to a one-year low of 325,000 st.
• Stainless imports slipped 18% to a seven-month low of 81,000 st.

SMU will publish a full import analysis after final September data is released next week. We will also explore October import licenses collected to date.