(American Iron and Steel Institute, www.steel.org – June 25, 2018) Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that the U.S. imported a total of 2,887,000 net tons (NT) of steel in May 2018, including 2,418,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (down 23.2% and 16.0%, respectively, vs. April final data).

Year-to-date (YTD) through five months of 2018, total and finished steel imports are 15,342,000 and 12,132,000 net tons (NT), down 2.7% and up 0.4%, respectively, vs. the same period in 2017. Annualized total and finished steelimports in 2018 would be 36.8 and 29.1 million NT, down 3.4% and 1.5%, respectively, vs. 2017. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 25% in May and is estimated at 26% YTD. A key finished steel product with a significant import increase in May compared to April was wire rods (up 61%). Major products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2017 include hot rolled sheets (up 38%), plates in coils (up 36%), mechanical tubing (up 23%), line pipe (up 20%) and oil country goods (up 19%). In May, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were from Germany (140,000 NT, up 16% from April final), Japan (120,000 NT, up 22%), South Korea (110,000 NT, down 77%), Turkey (92,000 NT, down 37%) and Taiwan (77,000 NT, down 33%). For the first five months of 2018, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,532,000 NT, down 1% vs. the same period in 2017), Japan (612,000 NT, down 7%), Turkey (567,000 NT, down 50%), Germany (549,000 NT, up 13%) and Taiwan (467,000 NT, down 6%). Below are charts on estimated steel import market share in recent months and on finished steel imports from offshore by country.