Steel imports fell in the US in March, with significant growth since the beginning of the year

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reports that steel imports during March 2015 totaled 3.744 million tonnes. This is 3 percent less compared to the 3.855 million tons recorded in February. Since the beginning of 2015, imports of steel and finished rolled products amounted to 11.849 million tonnes and 9.756 million tonnes, respectively, increasing to 22 and 36 percent, respectively, compared to the same period in 2014. The US steel import market share is estimated at 32 percent in March.

The main types of finished rolled products with a significant increase in imports in March compared to February are: steel piles (up to 313 percent), rebar (up to 102 percent), metal-coated sheets and strips (up to 93 percent), wire (up to 50 percent), pipes (up to 40 percent) and hot-rolled strips (up to 27 percent).

Products that saw a significant increase in imports YTD include line pipes (up 111 percent), heavy structural shapes (up to 93 percent), plates (up to 80 percent), standard pipes (up to 47 percent), cold rolled sheets (up to 40 percent), reinforcing bars (up to 34 percent), galvanized products (up to 30 percent), hot-rolled sheets (up to 21 percent) and coated sheets and strips (up to 17 percent).

In March, the largest volumes of finished steel imports came from South Korea (618,000 tons, + 29 percent), Turkey (422 thousand tons, + 46 percent), China (241 thousand tons, - 9 percent), Japan (210 thousand tons, - 1 percent) and India (177 thousand tons, + 92 percent), compared to February. The largest maritime suppliers for the three-month period of the year were South Korea (1,936 thousand tons, + 66 percent), Turkey (1,009 thousand tons, + 115 percent) and China (705 thousand tons, + 24 percent), all compared to 2014.