Steel Products Prices North America
December 14, 2014
Investigation of Steel Import License Data Accuracy
Written by Peter Wright
Steel import data is reported three times for each month. These reports are licensed, preliminary and final tonnages for each product. The Steel Import Monitoring system has been a widely used tool to provide an advanced look at import volumes using data compiled from import licenses. These licenses can be applied for at any time between when the vessel ships to ten days after it arrives, so there is not an exact overlap with a calendar month of receipts.
The total licensed tonnage for any product in a given month is available on the first Tuesday of the following month which is about three weeks before the preliminary numbers and about five weeks before the final numbers are released.
