AISI Releases February SIMA Imports Data

Finished Import Market Share Estimated at 21 Percent in February

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 February totaled 2,137,000 net tons (NT)*. This was a 26.4% decrease from the 2,904,000 permit tons recorded in January and a 30.4% decrease from the January final imports total of 3,072,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in February was 1,566,000, down 32.1% from the final imports total of 2,307,000 in January. For the first two months of 2025 (including February SIMA permits and January final imports), total and finished steel imports were 5,209,000 NT and 3,874,000 NT, up 3.8% and 5.8%, respectively, from the same period in 2024. The estimated finished steel import market share in February was 21% and is 24% year-to-date (YTD).

Steel imports with large increases in February permits vs. January final imports include electrical sheet and strip (up 135%), standard rail (up 77%), sheets and strip electrolytic galvanized (up 77%), ingots and steel for castings (up 52%) and tool steel (up 25%). Products with significant year-to-date (YTD) increases vs. the same period in 2024 include tin plate (up 101%), line pipe (up 60%), reinforcing bars (up 50%), wire rods (up 29%) and plates in coils (up 24%).

In February, the largest steel import permit applications were for Canada (455,000 NT, down 30% from January final), Brazil (412,000 NT, down 30%), Mexico (303,000 NT, down 36%), South Korea (194,000 NT, down 41%) and Japan (107,000 NT, up 10%). Through the first two months of 2025, the largest suppliers were Canada (1,103,000 NT, down 5%), Brazil (998,000 NT, up 2%) and Mexico (775,000 NT, up 7%).

*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, steel pipe and tube manufacturers, and steel processors and fabricators reflecting the production and distribution of both carbon and stainless steels which are critical to the everyday lives of all Americans — including national security, roads and bridges, buildings, 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.