AISI Releases September SIMA Imports Data

Finished Import Market Share Estimated at 20 Percent in September

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 September totaled 2,289,000 net tons (NT)*. This was a 0.7% increase from the 2,272,000 permit tons recorded in August and a 0.5% increase from the August final imports total of 2,279,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in September was 1,659,000, down 10.8% from the final imports total of 1,860,000 in August. For the first nine months of 2023 (including September SIMA permits and August final imports), total and finished steel imports were 21,946,000 NT and 16,807,000 NT, down 9.4% and 14.5%, respectively, from the same period in 2022. The estimated finished steel import market share in September was 20% and is 22% year-to-date (YTD).

Steel imports with large increases in September permits vs. August final imports include black plate (up 70%), hot rolled sheets (up 52%), ingots and billets and slabs (up 50%), heavy structural shapes (up 18%) and stainless pipe and tube (up 18%). Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2022 include cut lengths plates (up 24%), standard rails (up 16%), ingots and billets and slabs (up 13%), oil country goods (up 11%) and line pipe (up 10%).

In September, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada (526,000 NT, down 4% from August final), Brazil (451,000 NT, up 116%), Mexico (354,000 NT, down 3%), South Korea (338,000 NT, up 33%) and Japan (73,000 NT, down 23%). Through the first nine months of 2023, the largest suppliers were Canada (5,245,000 NT, no change), Mexico (3,334,000 NT, down 21%) and Brazil (3,122,000 NT, up 44%).

*Note that import permits data are counts of tonnages requested in applications for licenses to import steel 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’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, LinkedIn, Twitter (@AISISteel) or Instagram.