US steel imports increased by 27.8% year-on-year in the first quarter

According to the steel import monitoring and analysis data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on April 6, in the first quarter of 2022, the steel import volume and finished steel import volume of the United States were 8.471 million tons and 6.697 million tons respectively, with a year-on-year increase of 27.8% and 50.1% respectively. Among them, the US steel import permit applications in March was 3.078 million tons, an increase of 32.0% compared with 2.333 million tons in February, and an increase of 31.1% compared with 2.348 million tons in February.

In addition, the import license of finished steel products in the United States in March was 2.578 million tons, an increase of 40.2% compared with 1.84 million tons in February. It is reported that the steel varieties with a significant increase in the permitted import volume of the United States in March (compared with February) include standard steel pipe (an increase of 89%), wire rod (an increase of 79%), pipe (an increase of 67%) and hot rolled plate (an increase of 62%); Compared with March 2021, the products with a significant increase in licensed imports include wire rod (an increase of 145%), oil well steel (an increase of 108%), cold rolled sheet (an increase of 89%), standard pipe (an increase of 67%) and hot-dip galvanized sheet (an increase of 57%).

In the first quarter of 2022, the top three import sources of American steel were Canada (1.638 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 5%), Mexico (1.531 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 59%) and Brazil (945000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 24%).