News Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 26, 2018 CONTACT Lisa Harrison 202.452.7115/lharrison@steel.org STEEL IMPORTS UP 17% IN JANUARY Finished Import Market Share at 26% 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 2,875,000 net tons (NT) of steel in January 2018, including 2,327,000 net tons (NT) of finished steel (up 17.3% and 23.8%, respectively, vs. December final data). Total and finished steel imports are up 2.2% and down 0.1%, respectively, vs. the same period in 2017. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 26% in January. Key finished steel products with significant import increases in January compared to December include sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 129%), reinforcing bars (up 82%), oil country goods (up 78%), line pipe (up 44%), standard pipe (up 30%), hot rolled sheets (up 27%), hot rolled bars (up 22%), wire drawn (up 14%), mechanical tubing (up 13%), and plates in coils (up 11%). Jan. Dec. % var (1 mo.) (1 mo.) % var % var 2018 2017 Jan. vs. YTD YTD '18 vs. 2018 2017 2018 Steel Mill Product final final Dec. 2018 2017 '17 Ann. 12 mo. vs 2017 Ingots and Billets and Slabs 543,049 565,762-4.0% 543,049 480,259 13.1% 6,516,587 8,519,484-23.5% Oil Country Goods 372,459 209,052 78.2% 372,459 186,586 99.6% 4,469,512 3,416,194 30.8% Sheets & Strip Galv Hot Dipped 221,936 208,199 6.6% 221,936 311,184-28.7% 2,663,235 3,421,194-22.2% Line Pipe 195,384 135,999 43.7% 195,384 97,313 100.8% 2,344,610 2,234,960 4.9% Sheets Hot Rolled 195,196 153,832 26.9% 195,196 159,589 22.3% 2,342,357 2,129,384 10.0% Sheets Cold Rolled 183,549 205,659-10.8% 183,549 255,600-28.2% 2,202,588 2,932,375-24.9% Bars - Hot Rolled 132,401 108,535 22.0% 132,401 102,431 29.3% 1,588,811 1,453,127 9.3% Plates in Coils 112,886 102,157 10.5% 112,886 105,956 6.5% 1,354,630 1,365,316-0.8% Standard Pipe 97,272 74,875 29.9% 97,272 93,667 3.8% 1,167,260 1,165,069 0.2% Bars - Reinforcing 95,805 52,791 81.5% 95,805 221,969-56.8% 1,149,664 1,566,310-26.6% Sheets & Strip All Other Met. Ctd. 90,850 39,647 129.1% 90,850 118,932-23.6% 1,090,199 1,173,623-7.1% Tin Plate 79,899 78,894 1.3% 79,899 63,175 26.5% 958,791 941,400 1.8% Wire Rods 72,710 83,927-13.4% 72,710 107,566-32.4% 872,521 1,581,077-44.8% Wire Drawn 71,066 62,302 14.1% 71,066 72,379-1.8% 852,787 856,820-0.5% Mechanical Tubing 57,735 51,005 13.2% 57,735 47,609 21.3% 692,822 669,791 3.4% Plates Cut Lengths 53,978 51,923 4.0% 53,978 62,476-13.6% 647,740 828,010-21.8% Structural Pipe & Tubing 46,334 44,777 3.5% 46,334 52,431-11.6% 556,007 632,561-12.1% All Other 252,691 220,952 14.4% 252,691 275,115-8.2% 3,032,297 3,239,288-6.4% TOTAL 2,875,202 2,450,289 17.3% 2,875,202 2,814,237 2.2% 34,502,420 38,125,982-9.5% SUBTOTAL Finished Imports 2,327,103 1,880,356 23.8% 2,327,103 2,329,649-0.1% 27,925,238 29,560,912-5.5%
Steel Imports Up 17% in January; Finished Import Market Share at 26%/ Page 2 In January, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore were for South Korea (339,000 NT, up 77% from December final), Japan (141,000 NT, up 73%), Turkey (140,000 NT, up 141%), Taiwan (117,000 NT, up 188%) and Brazil (102,000 NT, up 6%). Below are charts on estimated steel import market share in recent months and on finished steel imports from offshore by country. BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN Jan. Dec. % incr. (1 mo.) (1 mo.) % incr. % incr. COUNTRY 2018 2017 Jan. YTD YTD '18 2018 2017 2018 (Prelim.) final vs. Dec. 2018 2017 vs. '17 Ann. 12 mo. vs. '17 South Korea 339 192 76.9% 339 312 8.8% 4,067 3,753 8.4% Japan 141 82 72.7% 141 146-3.0% 1,698 1,504 12.9% Turkey 140 58 140.5% 140 307-54.6% 1,674 2,191-23.6% Taiwan 117 41 187.7% 117 111 5.7% 1,406 1,245 12.9% Brazil 102 96 6.3% 102 80 27.6% 1,228 987 24.4% Germany 90 105-13.7% 90 82 10.7% 1,083 1,405-22.9% China 72 53 35.4% 72 70 2.7% 861 813 5.9% Vietnam 66 48 37.0% 66 108-38.8% 796 749 6.4% All Other 1,259 1,206 4.4% 1,259 1,114 13.0% 15,112 16,914-10.7% Total 2,327 1,880 23.8% 2,327 2,330-0.1% 27,925 29,561-5.5%
Steel Imports Up 17% in January; Finished Import Market Share at 26%/ Page 3 3 MONTHS ROLLING AVERAGE Preliminary Actual Current 3 Months Country 3 Mos. Rolling Avg. 3 Mos. Prior vs 3 Months Prior Jan. '18 - Nov. '17 Oct. '17 - Aug. '17 % Change South Korea 248 360-31.0% Japan 113 123-8.6% Germany 112 137-18.1% Brazil 99 95 4.1% Turkey 88 113-22.3% Taiwan 71 121-41.6% Netherlands 63 61 3.6% China 62 62-0.2% Vietnam 49 61-20.5% Russia 36 80-54.7% All Other 1,185 1,297-8.6% Total 2,126 2,510-15.3% 3 MONTHS ROLLING AVERAGE Preliminary Actual Current 3 Months Product 3 Mos. Rolling Avg. 3 Mos. Prior vs 3 Months Prior Jan. '18 - Nov. '17 Oct. '17 - Aug. '17 % Change Oil Country Goods 286 317-9.9% Sheets & Strip Galv. Hot Dipped 229 280-18.4% Sheets Cold Rolled 192 249-22.9% Sheets Hot Rolled 173 177-2.7% Line Pipe 165 246-33.0% Bars - Hot Rolled 128 116 10.6% Plates in Coils 117 117-0.3% Standard Pipe 85 91-7.1% Tin Plate 82 83-1.6% Wire Rods 79 114-30.6% All Other 591 720-17.8% Total 2,126 2,510-15.3% -MORE
Millions of Net Tons Millions of Net Tons Steel Imports Up 17% in January; Finished Import Market Share at 26%/ Page 4 4.5 Monthly Imports 2018 vs. 2017 Finished Semi-finished 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 '17 '18 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Semi-finished 0.5 0.5 0.6-0.9-0.8-0.9-0.9-0.6-0.9-0.6-0.6-0.6-0.6 - Finished 2.3 2.3 2.1-2.5-2.5-2.6-3.0-2.9-2.5-2.5-2.6-2.2-1.9 - % change finished imports January 2018 vs January 2017 = -0.1% 3 Month Rolling Averages and 2018 vs. 2017 Finished Semi-finished 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 3 Mos. Prior 3 Mos. Rolling Rolling Avg. Avg. 2017 2018* Semi-finished 0.723 0.570 8.565 6.577 Finished 2.510 2.126 29.561 27.925 % change finished imports 3 Mos. Rolling Avg. vs. 3 Mos. Prior = -15.3% % change semi-finished imports 2018 vs 2017 = -23.2% % change finished imports 2018 vs 2017 = -5.5%
Steel Imports Up 17% in January; Finished Import Market Share at 26%/ 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 21 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and approximately 120 associate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI's website at www.steel.org. Follow AISI on Facebook or Twitter (@AISISteel). -#####-