Lower flat volumes drag US steel imports down
US steel imports fell 9pc in August, marking a 15th consecutive drop, according to preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce.
- Total import volumes fell to 2.07mn metric tonnes (t) in August, the lowest since December 2022 and down from 2.28mn t a year earlier.
- Import volumes of hot rolled coil, cold rolled coil, and hot dipped galvanized products dropped by double digits from a year earlier.
- HRC imports were up from July, while CRC imports were down and HDG was mostly flat.
- Import licenses for blooms, billets and slabs fell by 1.8pc after three months of increases. Volumes were down by more than 100,000t from the prior month.
| US steel preliminary imports, August 2023 | metric tonnes | |||
| Product | Aug-23 | Aug-22 | Volume change | ±% |
| HRC | 156,806 | 189,570 | -32,764 | -17.3% |
| CRC | 124,394 | 175,557 | -51,163 | -29.1% |
| HDG | 166,299 | 222,655 | -56,356 | -25.3% |
| Blooms, billets, slabs | 378,993 | 385,904 | -6,911 | -1.8% |
| Total (all items)* | 2,066,878 | 2,278,625 | -211,747 | -9.3% |
| US Department of Commerce | ||||
| August 2023 data is preliminary data, which is subject to change | ||||
| *Total includes other items such as long products, other sheet types, and other steel items for consumption. | ||||
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