News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 23, 2014 CONTACT Lisa Harrison 202.452.7115/ lharrison@steel.org PRELIMINARY STEEL IMPORTS INCREASE 15% IN APRIL Import Market Share 27% in April Washington, D.C. Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that the U.S. imported a total of 3,726,000 net tons (NT) of steel in April, including 2,738,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (up 15.2% and 12.2%, respectively, vs. March final data). Year-to-date (YTD) total and finished steel imports are 13,451,000 and 9,894,000 net tons (NT), respectively, up 29% and 20% respectively, vs. 2013. Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2014 would be 40.4 and 29.7 million NT, up 26% and 20% respectively vs. 2013. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 27% in April and is estimated at 26% YTD. Key finished steel products with a significant import increase in April compared to March are wire rods (up 71%), heavy structural shapes (up 43%), line pipe (up 34%), cold rolled sheets (up 27%), standard pipe (up 24%), hot rolled bars (up 21%) and plates in coils (up 14%). Major products with significant YTD import increases vs. the same period last year include wire rods (up 113%), plates in coils (up 68%), cold rolled sheets (up 52%), reinforcing bars (up 47%), sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 41%), sheets and strip galvanized hot dipped (up 35%), hot rolled sheets (35%), mechanical tubing (31%), oil country goods (up 15%) and cut lengths plates (up 13%). % var (4 mo.) (4 mo.) % var % var Apr. Mar. Apr. vs. YTD YTD '14 vs. 2014 2013 2014 Steel Mill Product (prelim.) final Mar. 2014 2013 '13 Ann. 12 mo. vs 2013 Ingots and Billets and Slabs 981,786 790,608 24.2% 3,540,337 2,187,130 61.9% 10,621,011 7,284,552 45.8% Sheets Hot Rolled 270,181 310,683-13.0% 1,218,625 902,236 35.1% 3,655,876 2,981,741 22.6% Oil Country Goods 274,128 254,800 7.6% 1,172,919 1,018,196 15.2% 3,518,756 3,289,767 7.0% Sheets & Strip Galv Hot Dipped 243,191 236,438 2.9% 951,610 703,933 35.2% 2,854,831 2,077,167 37.4% Sheets Cold Rolled 259,548 203,817 27.3% 786,533 519,075 51.5% 2,359,599 1,571,458 50.2% Plates in Coils 165,363 144,692 14.3% 648,859 386,365 67.9% 1,946,577 1,175,856 65.5% Line Pipe 190,940 142,842 33.7% 611,282 916,546-33.3% 1,833,846 2,366,697-22.5% Wire Rods 225,064 131,411 71.3% 598,838 281,317 112.9% 1,796,514 878,577 104.5% Bars - Reinforcing 126,173 153,303-17.7% 586,291 398,634 47.1% 1,758,873 1,208,899 45.5% Bars - Hot Rolled 160,574 132,959 20.8% 524,175 501,550 4.5% 1,572,526 1,780,742-11.7% Plates Cut Lengths 138,614 130,208 6.5% 451,129 399,681 12.9% 1,353,386 1,016,628 33.1% Sheets & Strip All Oth. Met. Ctd. 93,818 89,586 4.7% 330,410 234,836 40.7% 991,231 719,945 37.7% Wire Drawn 70,925 69,202 2.5% 261,580 239,919 9.0% 784,741 713,411 10.0% Standard Pipe 75,652 61,125 23.8% 259,767 299,469-13.3% 779,302 874,002-10.8% Mechanical Tubing 64,873 57,118 13.6% 235,626 179,923 31.0% 706,879 585,651 20.7% Structural Shapes Heavy 72,161 50,402 43.2% 207,275 203,821 1.7% 621,825 571,602 8.8% Tin Plate 41,676 60,570-31.2% 179,039 165,634 8.1% 537,116 537,390-0.1% All Other 271,535 214,242 26.7% 887,037 895,271-0.9% 2,661,106 2,516,792 5.7% TOTAL 3,726,202 3,234,006 15.2% 13,451,332 10,433,536 28.9% 40,353,995 32,150,877 25.5% SUBTOTAL Finished Imports 2,738,064 2,439,418 12.2% 9,893,747 8,235,620 20.1% 29,681,240 24,829,257 19.5%
April Preliminary Imports increase 15%; Import Market Share at 27% in April / Page 2 In April, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were all from Asia and Europe. They were from China (416,000 NT, up 108% vs. March final), South Korea (401,000 NT, up 16%), Japan (210,000 NT, up 23%), Turkey (138,000 NT, down 19%) and Russia (106,000 NT, up 6%). For four months of 2014, the largest offshore suppliers were South Korea (1,567,000 NT, up 27%), China (983,000 NT, up 76%), Japan (707,000 NT, up 8%), Turkey (607,000 NT, up 30%) and Russia (393,000 NT, up 295%). Below are charts on estimated steel import market share in recent months and on finished steel imports from offshore by country. 28% Estimated Finished Steel Import Market Share for the Past 12 Months 26% 24% 22% 20% 18% MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR 2014 BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN % incr. (4 mo.) (4 mo.) % incr. 2014 % incr. COUNTRY Apr. Mar. Apr. YTD YTD '14 YTD full year 2013 2014 2014 2014 vs. Mar. 2014 2013 vs. '13 (est.) Annual vs. '13 South Korea 401 345 16.1% 1,567 1,237 26.7% 4,702 3,651 28.8% China 416 200 107.9% 983 559 76.0% 2,950 1,652 78.6% Japan 210 170 23.3% 707 657 7.6% 2,121 1,931 9.8% Turkey 138 170-18.6% 607 469 29.5% 1,822 1,347 35.3% Russia 106 100 5.9% 393 99 295.1% 1,179 595 98.1% Germany 99 142-30.4% 377 386-2.3% 1,132 1,279-11.5% India 52 81-36.1% 354 244 45.2% 1,061 762 39.2% All Other 1,317 1,232 6.9% 4,905 4,584 7.0% 14,715 13,614 8.1% Total 2,738 2,439 12.2% 9,894 8,236 20.1% 29,681 24,829 19.5% -MORE
April Preliminary Imports increase 15%; Import Market Share at 27% in April / Page 3 3 MONTHS ROLLING AVERAGE Preliminary Actual Current 3 Months Product 3 Mos. Rolling Avg. 3 Mos. Prior vs 3 Months Prior Apr. '14 - Feb. '14 Jan. '14 - Nov. '13 % Change Sheets Hot Rolled 300 270 11.3% Oil Country Goods 277 282-1.7% Sheets & Strip Galv Hot Dipped 237 188 26.0% Sheets Cold Rolled 208 148 40.6% Plates in Coils 165 121 36.2% Line Pipe 156 142 10.2% Wire Rods 151 90 69.0% Bars - Hot Rolled 138 132 4.6% Plates Cut Lengths 126 75 68.2% Bars - Reinforcing 124 133-6.7% All Other 601 501 19.9% Total 2,484 2,081 19.4% 3 MONTHS ROLLING AVERAGE Preliminary Actual Current 3 Months Country 3 Mos. Rolling Avg. 3 Mos. Prior vs 3 Months Prior Apr. '14 - Feb. '14 Jan. '14 - Nov. '13 % Change South Korea 378 327 15.7% China 264 165 59.8% Japan 178 155 15.2% Turkey 136 107 26.9% Russia 103 43 139.7% Germany 101 91 10.7% India 94 54 73.8% Taiwan 79 69 15.0% Netherlands 75 65 15.7% United Kingdom 51 34 48.3% All Other 1,023 970 5.5% Total 2,484 2,081 19.4%
April Preliminary Imports increase 15%; Import Market Share at 27% in April / Page 4 4.0 Monthly Imports 2014 vs. 2013 Finished Semi-finished 3.5 Millions of Net Tons 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 '13 '14 JAN FEB M AR APR M AY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Semi-finished 0.5 0.8 0.6 1.0 0.5 0.8 0.6 1.0 0.7-0.5-0.5-0.7-0.6-0.8-0.7-0.6 - Finished 2.1 2.4 1.9 2.3 2.1 2.4 2.1 2.7 2.2-2.0-2.0-2.2-2.2-2.3-1.9-1.9 - % change finished imports April 2014 vs. April 2013 = +27.6% Millions of Net Tons 50 40 30 20 10 0 3 Month Rolling Averages and 2014 vs. 2013 3 Mos. Prior Rolling Avg. Finished 3 Mos. Rolling Avg. Semi-finished 2013 2014* Semi-finished 0.687 0.931 7.322 10.673 Finished 2.081 2.484 24.829 29.681 % change finished imports 3 Mos. Rolling Avg. vs. 3 Mos. Prior = +19.4% % change semi-finished imports 2014 vs 2013 = +45.8% % change finished imports 2014 vs 2013 = +19.5% * annualized
April Preliminary Imports increase 15%; Import Market Share at 27% in April / Page 5 AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI also plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 22 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and approximately 125 associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. AISI s member companies represent over three quarters of both U.S. and North American steel capacity. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI s website at www.steel.org. -#####-