AISI Releases December SIMA Imports Data

Finished Import Market Share Estimated at 22 Percent in December

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 December totaled 2,407,000 net tons (NT)*. This was a 10.8% increase from the 2,172,000 permit tons recorded in November and a 16.4% increase from the November final imports total of 2,067,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in December was 1,874,000, up 17.7% from the final imports total of 1,592,000 in November. For the full year 2024 (including December SIMA permits and November final imports), total and finished steel imports were 29,142,000 NT and 22,554,000 NT, up 3.5% and 3.9%, respectively, from the same period in 2023. The estimated finished steel import market share in December was 22% and is 23% for the full year of 2024.

Steel imports with large increases in December permits vs. November final imports include hot rolled sheets (up 74%), hot rolled bars (up 50%), wire rods (up 46%), tin plate (up 46%) and plate in coils (up 43%). Products with significant increases for the full year of 2024 vs. 2023 include sheets and strip all other metallic coated (up 52%), sheets and strip hot dipped galvanized (up 35%), tin plate (31%), cold rolled sheet (up 26%) and wire rods (up 19%).

In December, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada (513,000 NT, up 8% from November final), Mexico (382,000 NT, up 36%), Brazil (293,000 NT, down 4%), South Korea (293,000 NT, up 64%) and Romania (98,000 NT, up 7,354%). For the full year of 2024, the largest suppliers were Canada (6,502,000 NT, down 6% from the same period last year), Brazil (4,650,000 NT, up 18%) and Mexico (3,536,000 NT, down 16%).

*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 (EAF) steelmakers reflecting the production of both carbon and stainless steels which are critical to the everyday lives of all Americans — including national security, roads and bridges, the electrical grid, clean energy technologies and the automotive market. AISI also represents 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.