US steel imports rose 5 percent in September 2014

According to the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA), the country's imports rose during September 2014 to 3.879 million tonnes, up 5 percent from 3.678 million tonnes of steel recorded in August this year.

Imports of finished rolled products in September this year were 3 percent higher compared to 2.768 million tons in August and amounted to 2.838 million tons. Finished steel products that showed the highest growth compared to August were: cold-rolled sheets (up to 40 percent), wire rod (up to 30 percent), sheet metal (up to 26 percent), plates (up to 23 percent), and hot-rolled sheets (up to 17 percent).

Cumulative steel imports for the nine months amounted to 32.513 million tonnes, up 36 percent from the same period in 2013. Imports of finished steel products in the first nine months rose 29 percent on an annualized basis to 24.267 million tonnes.

The products that had a significant increase in imports during the first nine months were: cold rolled sheets (up 83 percent), wire rod (up 81 percent), plates (up 63 percent), galvanized sheets (up 57 percent).

Among exporting countries, South Korea had the highest volume of finished rolled products imported into the United States. South Korean imports amounted to 407 thousand tons, followed by China with 337 thousand tons, and Turkey with 185 thousand tons.