February steel imports are expected to hold at elevated levels seen in January, which was already a near 27% boost from December, according to Department of Commerce data that was updated Tuesday.
The US had 2.9 million mt of steel products licensed to be imported in February, up nearly 1% from 2.88 million mt in January. In December, the US imported 2.27 million mt of steel products, finalized Commerce data says.
Factoring in February import licenses, US steel imports in the first two months of 2014 are expected to total 5.78 million mt, up 24% from 4.65 million mt imported in the same two-month period a year ago.
Plate products are expected to have spiked in February, while rebar and wire rod imports apparently dropped month on month.
In February, carbon and alloy cut plate imports are slated to jump 69% to 97,447 mt, comparing February import licenses to preliminary Census Bureau data for January. At the same time, coiled plate imports could have grown 18% to 158,140 mt. Much of the rise in coiled plate imports can be attributed to the 41,608 mt of Indian plate licensed for February, which would be the first shipment from India since February 2013.
After surging 168% in January, US rebar imports are expected to decline 58% in February to 81,121 mt. Licensed wire rod imports of 87,873 mt also represent a 32% reduction in imports month on month.
Import licenses for carbon and alloy semi-finished steel rose 24% to 846,033 mt in February. Brazil, the largest exporter of semi-finished steel products to the US in January, increased its shipments of semis by 32% to 346,657 mt. The UK, which does not typically export much semi-finished steel to the US, had 107,572 mt licensed for February, up from 74 mt in January.
The most imported finished steel product in February was Oil Country Tubular Goods, with 275,659 mt licensed, but this is down 7.4% from January's preliminary count.
Imports from Brazil are expected to be up 23%, while imports from Russia apparently rose 7%. South Korean steel shipments to the US dropped nearly 8% month on month, while licensed steel products from Canada and Mexico dropped 18% and 12%, respectively.
The American Iron and Steel Institute reported that finished steel import market share year to date has been 25%.
