U.S. Total Steel Imports Surged 20% in October

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) today reported that the country imported a total of 1.502 million net tons (NT) during the month of October this year. The imports through the initial ten months of the current year totalled 19.149 million NT. The above figures are based on the most recent data published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The total steel imports were up sharply by around 20% in the month of October, when compared with the September final data. On the contrary, the imports through October recorded notable decline by 22.8% over the previous year.

The monthly finished steel imports were up by 6.6% to 1.244 million NT. The cumulative finished steel imports during the initial ten-month period of 2020 totalled 13.612 million NT, down significantly by 25.9% in comparison with the corresponding period last year. Also, the finished steel import market share stood at 18% in October and during the initial ten months in 2020.

The AISI predicts the total and finished steel imports for the whole year 2020 at 23.0 million NT and 16.30 million NT respectively.

The finished steel products to report significant increases in import volumes over the previous month were oil country goods and reinforcing bars, whose imports were up by 105.9% and 95.4% respectively.