US steel imports may fall to February '21 levels

US steel imports may be set to fall in November to levels not seen since February 2021.

Steel import volumes may decline to 1.92mn metric tonnes (t), according to license data for November deliveries from the US Department of Commerce.

That would be down by 27pc from the 2.63mn t actually imported in November 2021 and down by 13pc from October.

Licenses are filed with the intent of actually importing, although the volumes of actual imports can fluctuate.

Flat and semi-finished products led the declines. Total flat volumes could fall by 34pc to 774,000t from a year earlier, with hot rolled coil (HRC) down by 51pc to 144,000t, and hot dipped galvanized (HDG) coil volumes down by 52pc to 147,000t.

Total semi-finished imports could drop by 61pc to 196,000t, led by a drop in slab volumes of 62pc to 137,000t.

By Rye Druzin