Steel Products Prices North America
May 6, 2014
Foreign Steel Penetration into Domestic Steel Market
Written by John Packard
When Nucor announced their earnings on April 24th they held a conference call with analysts to discuss their business and to make statements about their company, the markets they serve and about the economy in general. John Ferriola, Nucor’s Chairman, CEO and President, provided an opening statement during which he made the following remarks regarding imports of foreign steel into the United States:
“Imports have significantly increased their share of the U.S. market during the current downturn. Imported steel share of U.S. market increased from 25% in 2009 to 30% in 2013. And over the first two months of 2014, their share has increased to an alarming 36%. Given the indisputable fact that mills in the United States are among the lowest cost producers of steel in the world, this makes no sound economic sense. They come here not because of demand, but in many cases, because of foreign producers’ excess capacity, unfairly traded pricing, and illegal subsidies they enjoy from their governments.
