By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

December 10, 2015 01:47:30 AM

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that steel import permit applications for the month of November totaled 2,647,000 net tons (NT). This was a 24% decrease from the 3,473,000 permit tons recorded in October and a 13% decrease from the October final imports total of 3,041,000 NT.

Import permit tonnage for finished steel in November was 2,098,000 NT, down 8% from the final imports total of 2,275,000 in October. For the first 11 months of 2015 (including November SIMA and October final), total and finished steel imports were 36,590,000 NT and 29,553,000 NT, respectively, down 10% and 4% from the same period in 2014. The estimated finished steel import market share in November was 26% and is 29% year-to-date (YTD).

Finished steel imports with large increases in November permits vs. October final included bars light shapes (up 199%), cut lengths plates (up 111%), structural pipe and tubing (up 42%) and plates in coils (up 37%).

Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2014 include reinforcing bar (up 41%), standard pipe (up 18%), line pipe (up 17%) and wire drawn (up 11%).

In November, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for South Korea (330,000 NT, down 7% from October final), Japan (213,000 NT up 56%), Turkey (201,000 NT, down 32%), China (112,000 NT, up 63%) and Germany (106,000, up 14%). Through the first eleven months of 2015, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (4,634,000 NT, down 8% from the same period in 2014), Turkey (2,686,000 NT, up 32%) and China (2,286,000, down 23%).

Courtesy: American Iron and Steel Institute