According to preliminary Census Bureau data, US steel imports totaled 2.073 million net tons in April, with finished steel accounting for 1.607 million net tons. These figures represented a month-on-month decrease of 17.1% and 11.8%, respectively.
In the first four months of this year, total steel imports and finished steel imports dropped by 4.4% and 5.1% compared to the corresponding period a year ago.
In April, finished steel's import market share was an estimated 20%, and it was estimated to be 22% in the first four months of this year.
Significant increases in April imports included tin plate (up by 43% month on month) and oil country goods (up by 26% month on month). Canada (433,000 net tons, down by 13% month on month), Brazil (299,000 net tons, down by 30% month on month), and South Korea (185,000 net tons, down by 27% month on month) were the top three suppliers in April.
