March 31, 2006 — The United States imported a total of 3,511,000 net tons of steel in February 2006, according to the latest report by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The total includes 2,662,000 net tons of finished steel, a 30% increase over February 2005.
Year-to-date (YTD) imports climbed 26% compared to YTD 2005, with YTD finished steel imports now 24% higher than for YTD 2005.
Looking at a three-month rolling average (the most recent three-month period compared to the previous three-month period), the trend shows that finished steel imports overall are up 27%. Comparison also reveals that the trend is particularly pronounced for certain countries, — e.g., Taiwan (up 180%), Turkey (up 135%), China (up 86%), South Korea (up 62%) and India (up 59%). Projecting the current trend on an annualized basis, total steel imports would exceed 42.1 million net tons by year-end, which would be the second-highest year in history.
Key products with large increases in February compared to the month before include:
- Reinforcing bars, +149%
- Heavy structural shapes, +81%
- Tinplate, +42%
- Cold rolled sheets, +35%
- Structural pipe & tubing, +34%
- Plates in coils, +23%
Products with sizable YTD increases compared to YTD 2005 include
- Reinforcing bars, +138%
- Galvanized electrolytic sheets & strip, +70%
- Bars – light shapes, +81%
- Heavy structural shapes, +79%
- Plates (cut lengths), +60%
- Galvanized hot dip sheets & strip, +26%
- Cold rolled sheets, +23%
U.S. spot prices in February 2006 for hot and cold-rolled sheet per ton declined year-over-year compared to February 2005 (from $662 to $545, and from $715 to $630, respectively), according to data publicly reported by Purchasing Magazine.
"Imports in the steel sector remain up sharply in 2006,” said U. S. Steel Corp. Chairman and CEO John P. Surma, who is Chairman of AISI. "As policy makers focus more and more on the nation's trade problems, including our unsustainable trade deficit, it will be critical to ensure that imports — whether in steel or other sectors of the economy — compete based on market principles, rather than through dumping, subsidies and other foreign trade distortions.”
“The bulk of the import increases are coming from countries where subsidies are prevalent, currency undervaluation is practiced and capacity increases outstrip domestic demand,” said Andrew G. Sharkey III, President and CEO of AISI. “These trade-distorting practices have the potential to damage the globally-competitive U.S. and North American steel industry and need to be addressed.”