The permits for finished steel in November increased while total steel import permit applications declined in November 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 November totaled 1.41mn nt, down 17.2pc from 1.70mn nt worth of permits in the previous month and 6.7pc down from October’s final imports of 1.51mn nt.
Finished steel permits, however, increased by 1.4pc last month to 1.27mn nt compared with final finished steel imports of 1.25mn nt in October.
From January-November, AISI indicated, the total steel imports fell 22pc to 20.56mn nt compared with the first 11 months of 2019, while finished steel imports fell by 24.4pc to 14.90mn nt during the same timeframe.
The most sought after finished steel imports in November, compared with the previous month, included, tin plate (up 86pc), sheets and strip electrolytic galvanized (up 83pc), plates and coils (49pc increase), rebars (up 34pc), standard pipe (up 23pc), sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 21pc) and light shapes bars (up 21pc).
Compared with January-November 2019, light shape bars and tin free steel, both up 24pc and 21pc, respectively, in the same period this year, were the most sought after finished steel goods.
In November, South Korea remained the most sought after destination for steel imports, unchanged at 146,000nt compared with October, followed by the Netherlands at 82,000nt (up 194pc), Germany at 64,000nt (down 5pc), Turkey at 50,000nt (down 27pc), and China at 39,000nt (up 22pc).
South Korea also remained the largest offshore steel provider in the first 11 months of the year, with shipments from this destination tallying at 1.812mn nt (down 25pc) followed by Japan at 695,000nt (down 41pc), and Germany at 656,000nt (down 32pc) all compared with January-November 2019.