The American Iron and Steel Institute reported that steel import permit applications for the month of April total 2,576,000 net tonne. This was a 3% decrease from the 2,650,000 permit tonne recorded in March but up by 4% from the March preliminary imports total of 2,476,000 net tonne.
Import permit tonnage for finished steel in April was 2,003,000, up 2% from the preliminary imports total of 1,967,000 in March.
For the first four months of 2013, total and finished steel imports were 10,176,000 net tonne and 7,999,000 net tonne, respectively, down 13% and 11% from the same period in 2012.
April 2013 total and finished steel import permit tonne would annualize at 30,529,000 net tonne and 23,998,000 net tonne, down 9% and 7%, respectively, vs the 33,475,000 net tonne and 25,826,000 net tonne imported in 2012. The estimated finished steel import market share in April was 23% and is 23% YTD.
Finished steel imports with large increases in April permits vs the March preliminary included cut lengths plates (up 74%), wire rods (up 45%), standard pipe (up 36%), cold rolled sheets (up 19%) and mechanical tubing (up 19%). Major products with significant YTD increases vs the same period in 2012 include steel piling (up 60%) and cold rolled strip (up 36%).
In April, the largest finished steel import permit applications for offshore countries were for South Korea (275,000 NT, up 18% from March), Japan (220,000 NT up 25%), China (124,000 NT, down 9%), Germany (114,000 NT, up 56%) and Turkey (72,000 NT, down 53%). Through the first four months of 2013, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,150,000 NT, down 7% from the same period in 2012), Japan (663,000 NT, up 0.1%) and China (571,000 NT, up 30%).
Tags:JIS3101 SS400 steel, ASTM A572Gr50 steel, ASTM A572Gr42 steel
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