The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that steel import permit applications for the month of November totaled 2,124,000 net tons (nt), based on the US Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data.
This represents a 5.1 percent decrease from the 2,238,000 permit tons recorded in October and an 11.3 percent decrease from the October final imports total of 2,396,000 nt. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in November was 1,659,000 nt, down 10 percent from the final imports total of 1,842,000 nt in October. For the first eleven months of 2024, including November SIMA permits and October final imports, total and finished steel imports were 26,792,000 nt and 20,747,000 nt, up 2.8 and 3.3 percent respectively, from the same period in 2023. The estimated finished steel import market share in November was 21 percent and is 23 percent year-to-date.
Steel imports with large increases in November permits versus October final imports include electrical sheet and strip, up 160 percent, oil country goods, up 74 percent, sheet and strip all other metallic coated up 51 percent, standard pipe, up 11 percent, and line pipe, up 11 percent. Products with significant year-to-date increases versus the same period in 2023 include sheets and strip all other metallic coated, up 51 percent, sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized, up 40 percent, cold-rolled sheets up 28 percent, tin plate up 27 percent, and wire rods, up 19 percent.
In November, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada, 476,000 nt, down 13 percent from October final, Brazil 306,000 nt, down 16 percent, Mexico 268,000 nt, down 26 percent, South Korea 186,000 nt, up 15 percent, and Vietnam, 144,000 nt, up 42 percent. Through the first eleven months of 2024, the largest suppliers were Canada at 5,993,000 nt, down 6 percent, Brazil 4,356,000 nt, up 21 percent, and Mexico, 3,152,000 nt, down 19 percent.