US steel producers decreased their imports of rolled and semi-finished steel products to 2.47 million tonnes in February 2024, a 3.2% decrease from January of this year. AISI says this.
Rolling steel product import decreased to 1.74 million tonnes in February, a 9.2% decrease from January. With 236.61 thousand tonnes (+10.6% m/m) of imports, galvanised steel made up the majority of the total. Seventy-five percent of all imports were finished goods.
The US imported 5.02 million tonnes of steel in January–February 2024, reflecting a 2.4% increase over the same period in 2023.
During this time, deliveries of rolled steel products decreased by 2.5% year over year to 3.66 million tonnes. During this time, imports of galvanised steel accounted for 450.5 thousand tonnes (+19.% y/y).
Between January and February of last year, the US imported 1.16 million tonnes of steel from Canada, 974 thousand tonnes from Mexico, and 724 thousand tonnes from Brazil.
US Slashes Steel Imports by 8.7% in 2023, Tariffs and Production Boost Cited
The United States decreased its imports of steel to 28.15 million tonnes in 2023, an 8.7% decrease from 2022. The amount of rolled steel products imported into the country last year was 21.69 million tonnes, a 14.1% decrease from 2022.
Last year, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada accounted for the majority of the 6.88 million tonnes, 4.18 million tonnes, and 3.94 million tonnes of steel imports into the United States, respectively.
A number of factors, including high import tariffs, rising domestic steel production, declining steel demand as a result of economic challenges, and geopolitical factors, such as sanctions against some exporting nations, contributed to the US’s 2023 decline in steel imports.
The United States produced 80.7 million tonnes of steel in 2023, a 0.2% increase from 2022. Global production of steel for the month was 1.85 billion tonnes, a 0.1% year-over-year decrease. According to World Steel, the US is therefore one of the top ten steel-producing nations in the world.