Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis data, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported that steel import permit applications for the month of April totaled 2,452,000 net tons. This was a 9.9% decrease from the 2,722,000 permit net tons recorded in March and a 6.3% increase from the March final imports total of 2,308,000 net tons. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in April was 1,620,000 net tons, down 9.5% from the final imports total of 1,789,000 net tons in March. For the first four months of 2021, including April SIMA permits and March final imports, total and finished steel imports were 9,081,000 net tons and 6,083,000 net tons, down 1.2% and up 4.5%, respectively, from the same period in 2020. The estimated finished steel import market share in April was 18% and is 18% year-to-date.

Finished steel imports with large increases in April permits vs. the March final imports include heavy structural shapes (up 62%), plates in coils (up 44%), tool steel (up 33%) and cut lengths plates (up 24%). Products with significant year-to date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2020 include steel piling (up 196%), cut lengths plates (up 36%), sheet and strip all other metallic coatings (up 31%), hot rolled sheets (up 25%), plates in coils (up 21%), tin plate (up 16%), reinforcing bars (up 11%) and wire drawn (up 10%).

In April, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for South Korea (215,000 NT, down 10% from March final), Japan (82,000 NT, down 4%), Germany (62,000 NT, down 25%), Turkey (59,000 NT, up 38%) and Brazil (48,000 NT, up 282%). Through the first four months of 2021, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (816,000 NT, up 15% from the same period last year), Japan (300,000 NT, up 11%) and Germany (232,000 NT, no change).

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