[Ferro-Alloys.com] 

According to preliminary data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. steel imports fell 21.2%t to 22.019 million tons in 2020 from a year earlier. Among them, finished steel imports were 16.139 million short tons, down 23.3% from the same period last year. With the exception of tinplate imports, which increased 1.7% to 768,000 short tons from the same period last year, imports of other steel varieties declined from the same period last year. Pipeline pipes and oil pipes fell 61.0% and 53.2% to 711,000 short tons and 1.102 million short tons respectively. In 2020, the market share of finished steel in the United States is estimated to be 18%.

South Korea, Japan and Germany remain the main source countries of finished steel in the United States in 2020, with imports of 2.015 million short tons, 767,000 short tons and 725,000 short tons, down 21.8%, 38.2% and 30.5% respectively from the same period last year. In addition, in 2020, Turkey exported 562,000 tons of finished steel to the United States, an increase of 71.5% from the same period last year; Brazil exported 504,000 short tons to the United States, down 5.7% from the same period last year, while China exported 376,000 short tons to the United States, down 30.8% from the same period last year.

In December 2020, the United States imported 1.494 million short tons of steel, an increase of 9.0% over the end of November. U.S. imports of finished steel rose 13.5% to 1.34 million tons in December. Among them, pipeline pipe imports increased 223.4% to 860,00 short tons; The import volume of oil special pipe increased 147.5% to 92,000 short tons, and the import volume of medium and thick plate coil increased 83.9% to 94,000 short tons.