US flat products imports fall 8% in September

by Jessica Wagner on October 7, 2015

in Data

Based on reported import licenses, US flat products imports fell 8% from 1,096,000 short tons in August to 1,006,000 tons in September. Flat products imports in September 2014 were 1,387,000 tons and in September 2013 they were 816,000 tons. Imports of flat products over the first 9 months of 2015 were 5% higher than in the same period last year, with cut plate imports rising 1%, hot roll imports up 2%, cold roll imports up 7% and hot dip galvanized imports up 13%.

The drop in flat products imports in September was driven by lower hot roll imports where volumes fell significantly from Brazil, but also from Canada, Australia, Japan and Mexico. Hot dip galvanized imports also declined, here mainly from China, India and South Africa, and despite a rise from Korea and Italy. In contrast, cut plate imports rose significantly on higher volumes from Germany and France.

I will update the chart below to show mid-October licenses when the figures are published the week of October 19th.

SIMA US Import Licenses and Actuals, Flat Products
September 2012 to September 2015

short tons