AISI Releases August SIMA Imports Data

Finished Import Market Share Estimated at 21 Percent in August

Washington, D.C. – Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that steel import permit applications for the month of August totaled 2,608,000 net tons (NT)*. This was an 11.4% decrease from the 2,944,000 permit tons recorded in July and a 15.3% decrease from the July final imports total of 3,078,000.  Import permit tonnage for finished steel in August was 2,042,000, down 1.9% from the final imports total of 2,081,000 in July. For the first eight months of 2021 (including August SIMA permits and July final imports), total and finished steel imports were 20,405,000 NT and 14,149,000 NT, up 24.5% and 26.3%, respectively, from the same period in 2020. The estimated finished steel import market share in August was 21% and is 20% year-to-date (YTD).

Finished steel imports with large increases in August permits vs. the July final imports include steel piling (up 263%), structural pipe and tubing (up 41%), line pipe (up 27%), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 24%), tin plate (up 21%), mechanical tubing (up 18%) and hot rolled bars (up 10%). Products with significant year-to date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2020 include hot rolled sheets (up 83%), light shapes bars (up 68%), plates in coils (up 62%), sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 48%), wire rods (up 46%), cut lengths plates (up 44%), heavy structural shapes (up 26%), wire drawn (up 23%), hot rolled bars (up 23%), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 20%), cold rolled sheets (up 19%), tin plate (up 19%) and oil country goods (up 18%).

In August, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for South Korea (215,000 NT, down 28% from July final), Taiwan (105,000 NT, up 35%), The Netherlands (86,000 NT, up 70%), Japan (83,000 NT, up 24%) and China (78,000 NT, up 126%). Through the first eight months of 2021, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,845,000 NT, up 32% from the same period last year), Japan (672,000 NT, up 27%) and Germany (558,000 NT, up 18%).

*Note that import permits data are counts of tonnages requested in applications for licenses to import steel mill products and are not actual import volumes. For a number of reasons, permit tonnages may understate or overstate actual import volumes for the month, preliminary estimates of which will be available later this month.

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Contact: Lisa Harrison

202.452.7115 / lharrison@steel.org

AISI serves as the voice of the American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI’s membership is comprised of integrated and electric arc furnace steelmakers, and associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI’s website at www.steel.org. Follow AISI on Facebook or Twitter (@AISISteel).