Import Market Share for Sheet, Plate, Longs, Tubulars Through October

This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products. As of October 2020, imports’ share of total sheet products was 11.8 percent, down from 16.6 percent in May and from a recent high of 22.9 percent in 2015. The import share of HRC has been below 10 percent since January 2019, and was 7.7 percent in October 2020. Other metallic coated sheet has seen the most drastic change over the past five years. Since 2015, when imports’ share of OMC was 51.3 percent, it fell to just 14.8 percent in October 2020. This is not simply as a result of decreased imports, but also due to increased domestic shipments that have seen steady growth since 2014.

Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months and 12 months through October 2020 for the four product groups and 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic mill shipments to domestic locations plus imports. It shows imports on the same three- and 12-month basis and then calculates import market share for the two time periods for 16 products. Finally, it subtracts the 12-month share from the three-month share and color codes the result green or red according to gains or losses. If the result of the subtraction is positive, it means that import share is increasing, and the code is red. The big picture is that import market share has decreased in three months compared to 12 months for total sheet and plate products. Outside of standard pipe, structural tubing, light shapes and cold finished bars, total tubular and long products saw declining import market share in three months compared to 12 months through October 2020.