Steel Products Prices North America
February 27, 2020
Census Releases Preliminary January Import Data
Written by Brett Linton
Preliminary Census data for January steel imports was released this week, totaling just over 3.1 million net tons for the month, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. While the January license data is still preliminary, the last time the final Census data was this high was in April 2019 at 3.3 million tons.
The total January import figure is unusually high as a result of buyers seeking to max out quarterly quota limits on semi-finished products. For the remainder of the first quarter, semi-finished imports should be significantly lower (likely ~200,000 ton levels in February and March). Finished imports in January totaled 1.6 million tons, compared to 1.5 million tons of semi-finished products.
