Import permits for finished steel and total steel decreased in July compared with the previous month, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Citing figures from the latest Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data released by the US Department of Commerce, AISI indicated that total steel import permits in July totaled 2.79mn nt (2.53mn mt), down 8.2pc from 3.04mn nt worth of permits in the previous month and 3.8pc from June’s preliminary imports of 2.9mn nt.
Finished steel permits decreased by 6.9pc in July to 1.88mn nt compared with preliminary imports total of 2.02mn nt in June.
From January-July, AISI indicated that total steel imports increased by 15.7pc to 17.47mn nt compared with the same period in 2020, while finished steel imports rose by 18.5pc to 11.87mn nt during the same timeframe.
The most sought-after finished steel imports in July compared with the previous month include sheets and strip all other metallic coatings that moved up 39pc, mechanical tubing up by 29pc, sheets and strip galvanized hot dipped that climbed by 19pc, and reinforcing bars, which rose by 10pc.
Compared with January-July 2020, hot-rolled sheets imports rose by 66pc, hot-rolled strip by 56pc, light shapes bars by 55pc, plates in coils by 44pc, cut lengths plates by 42pc, sheets and strip all other metallic coatings by 40pc, wire rods by 39pc, and wire-drawn by 22pc. Hot-rolled bars increased by 17pc, heavy structural by 14pc, and sheets and strip galvanized hot dipped by 11pc in the same period this year.
In July, South Korea remained the most sought-after destination for finished steel imports, despite a 9pc decline to 250,000nt compared with June, followed by Vietnam, up 162pc to 99,000nt, Turkey, down 20pc to 78,000nt; Japan, down 40pc to 71,000nt; and Taiwan, down 23pc to 65,000nt.
South Korea also continues to be the largest offshore steel provider for the first seven months of 2021, with shipments from this destination totaling 1.58mn nt, up 23pc, followed by Japan at 591,000nt, up 22pc, and Turkey rising 35pc to 507,000nt, all compared with the first seven months of 2020.