Steel imports dropped nearly 16 percent month-over-month to 2.48 million tons in June, grabbing 22 percent of the U.S. market share.
The United States imported 1.43 tons of finished steel products that don’t require further processing at service centers in the United States, down 24.6 percent as compared to May, according to preliminary U.S. Census Bureau data. The largest offshore suppliers in June were South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Germany and Taiwan.
Through the first six months of 2018, the United States imported 17.8 million tons of foreign-made steel, down 9.3 percent as compared to the same period the previous year, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. That includes 13.9 million tons of steel imports, down 7.1 percent from the same period in 2017.
In the first half of the year, imports are down 10 percent from Korea, down 7 percent from Japan, up 10 percent from Germany, down 56 percent from Turkey and down 16 percent from Taiwan.
Even with tariffs of 25 percent on all foreign-made steel, imports still account for 25 percent of the market share.
So far this year, imports of hot rolled sheets are up 24 percent, plates in coils by 21 percent, line pipe by 14 percent and mechanical tubing by 11 percent, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. In June, the only significant year-over-year increase was an 11 percent jump on sheets and strip all other metallic coatings.
