Posted on 15 Oct 2015
The onslaught appears to be slowing down.
Steel import permit applications totaled 2.8 million net tons in September, an 8 percent decrease compared to August, according to the U.S. Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis data. That was down 6 percent as compared to the previous August, when 3 million net tons of steel flooded into American ports.
Imports from China declined by 19 percent, but rose by 80 percent from Germany and 1 percent from South Korea.
Total steel imports are now 30.9 million net tons for the first nine months of the year, which is down 5 percent from 2014's record pace, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. The United States has, however, imported 25.1 net tons of finished steel that doesn't require any further processing at American service centers, a 3 percent increase over last year. Imports from Turkey have skyrocketed by 48 percent this year.
U.S. steelmakers have filed three major trade cases against countries they say are illegally importing steel at less than its fair market value. After thousands of layoffs nationwide, the International Trade Commission has found they have grounds to proceed, since imports have taken a record 30 percent market share year-to-date.
Finished steel imports fell 10 percent to 2.2 million in September, down 10 percent as compared to August. They grabbed about 25 percent of the market share in September.
Standard rail imports skyrocketed by 334 percent in September, and cut-length plates shot up by 59 percent while cold-rolled sheets have soared by 19 percent.
So far this year, reinforcing bar imports are up 48 percent. Imports of tin plate and sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized, both common products in Northwest Indiana, have risen by 15 percent and 13 percent respectively.
