Posted on 03 Sep 2015
Import permit tonnage for finished steel in August was 2,339,000, down 9% from the preliminary imports total of 2,578,000 in July. For the first 8 months of 2015 (including August SIMA and July Preliminary), total and finished steel imports were 27,972,000 NT and 22,779,000 NT, respectively, down 2% and up 6% from the same period in 2014. The estimated finished steel import market share in August was 26% and is 30% year-to-date (YTD).
Finished steel imports with large increases in August permits vs. the July Preliminary included wire rods (up 36%), tin plate (up 21%) and oil country goods (up 11%).
Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2014 include reinforcing bar (up 46%), line pipe (up 43%), standard pipe (up 30%), tin plate (up 20%), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 18%), wire drawn (up 11%) and cold rolled sheets (up 10%).
In August, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for South Korea (317,000 NT, up 3% from July Preliminary), Japan (220,000 NT up 23%), Brazil (181,000 NT, up 92%), China (172,000, down 39%) and Turkey (141,000 NT, down 38%). Through the first eight months of 2015, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (3,683,000 NT, up 2% from the same period in 2014), Turkey (1,978,000 NT, up 51%) and China (1,977,000, down 2%).
