Steel Products Prices North America
February 13, 2021
Import Share of Steel Market Moves Up in December
Written by David Schollaert
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products. As of December 2020, imports’ share of total sheet products was 12.3%, up from 11.4% in November. The increase, albeit marginal, is notable as it’s the first increase for imports after declining for seven consecutive months following the most recent peak of 16.6% in May 2020. The import share of hot rolled coil has been below 10% since January 2019; however, it was also up to 9.0% in December, compared to 7.1% the month prior.
Other metallic coated sheet remains the product with the most drastic shift in import market share over the past several years, retracting from its most recent peak of 51.3% in April 2015 to 15.6% in December, and down from 18.3% month on month. This sharp swing is a result of the concurrent decrease in imports and an increase in domestic shipments since 2014.
