US steel imports climb 31% in March; HRC, wire rod surge: Commerce data

Total US steel imports in March climbed 31% month on month as wire rod and hot-rolled coil shipments surged along with a rise in most major product categories, preliminary US Commerce Department data showed April 26.

The US imported 2.80 million mt of steel in the month, up from final import counts of 2.13 million mt in February and 2.10 million mt shipped in March 2021.

The estimated finished steel import market share in the US was an estimated 26% in March, and 24% over the first three months of 2022, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Steel imports in March rose from February's final import numbers in all major flat product categories, with HRC shipments gaining the most by 70% to reach 241,252 mt. Imports also increased by 36% to 287,259 mt for hot-dipped galvanized sheet, 54% to 136,365 mt for coiled plate and 29% to 156,888 mt for cold-rolled coil.

Among semi-finished products, preliminary data showed that imports of slab remained mostly steady at 278,011 mt but rose 43% to 243,747 mt for non-slab products.

US wire rod imports soared 67% to 168,661 mt in March, while those for rebar shipments increased 6% to 147,166 mt.

Oil country tubular goods imports reached 195,060 mt in March, up from February's final total of 153,884 mt but down from the initial March import license total of 239,784 mt.

Canada was the top supplier of steel to the US in March, with imports totaling 591,463 mt. Mexico was the second-largest supplier at 491,474 mt.

Brazil, South Korea and Vietnam were the third-, fourth- and fifth-largest steel suppliers to the US in March, respectively.

Steel imports from Vietnam rose 133% from February's import volume to 151,298 mt.