Steel Import Permits Decrease, August Import Market Share at 20 Percent

Based on the Commerce Department’s Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that steel import permit applications for the month of August totaled 2,082,000 net tons (NT). This was a 15 percent decrease from the 2,436,000 permit tons recorded in July and a 14 percent decrease from the July preliminary imports total of 2,415,000 NT. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in August was 1,623,000 NT, down 10 percent from the preliminary imports total of 1,797,000 NT in July. August total and finished steel import permit tons would annualize at 24,305,000 NT and 18,912,000 NT, up 49 percent and 33 percent, respectively, from the 16,215,000 NT and 14,179,000 NT imported in 2009.