June steel imports decline 5 percent, import market share remains at 24 percent

Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported on July 5 that steel import permit applications for the month of June totaled 2,796,000 net tons (NT).

This was a 5-percent decrease from the 2,939,000 permit tons recorded in May and also a 5-percent decrease from the May preliminary imports total of 2,945,000 N, according to AISI. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in June was 2,171,000 NT, down 7 percent from the preliminary imports total of 2,323,000 NT in May, AISI reports.

June 2012 total and finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 34,975,000 NT and 26,965,000 NT, each up 23 percent, respectively, vs. the 28,515,000 NT and 21,835,000 NT imported in 2011. The estimated finished steel import market share in June was 24 percent.