US steel imports increased 13 percent in October

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reports that the United States imported a total of 4.398 million tonnes of steel in October, including 3.396 million tonnes of finished products, representing an increase in imports of 12.8 percent and 14.9 percent. respectively, compared to September. Since the beginning of the year, imports of finished rolled products have grown by 37 percent and amounted to 36.963 million tons compared to 2013.

The main products with a significant increase in imports are: wire rod (+ 87 percent), cold-rolled sheets (+ 84 percent), plates (+ 70 percent), galvanized sheets and strips (+ 57 percent), heavy structural forms (+ 53 percent), hot rolled sheets (+43 percent), metal coated sheets and strips (+ 42 percent), mechanical tubes (+ 31 percent), tinplate (+ 26 percent), and reinforcing bars (+ 14 percent).

In October, the largest volumes of finished steel imports came from South Korea (550 thousand tons, an increase of 43 percent compared to September), China (368 thousand tons, an increase of 12 percent), Turkey (327 thousand tons, an increase of 88 percent), Japan (237 thousand tons, up 36 percent) and Russia (119 thousand tons, down 33 percent).

For 10 months of 2014, the largest suppliers are: South Korea (4.563 million tons, + 44 percent), China (2.71 million tons, + 70 percent), Turkey (1.807 million tons, + 67 percent), Japan ( 1.768 million tons, + 10 percent) and Russia (1.2 million tons, + 518 percent).