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| Rolled Steel |
Total steel imports drop 17.1% month-on-month as demand shifts in key product segments
US steelmakers cut imports of rolled steel by 11.8% in April 2025 from the previous month to 1.61 million tonnes, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Total steel imports, including semi-finished products, fell 17.1% m/m to 2.07 million tonnes.
Despite the overall decline, imports of hot-dip galvanized flat products surged 25.7% to 200,080 tonnes, while tinplate saw a sharp 42.8% m/m increase to 149,400 tonnes. In contrast, cold-rolled flat products fell 13.9% to 140,400 tonnes, and galvanized sheets dropped 25.1% to 139,450 tonnes. Finished products made up 77.5% of total steel imports in April.
Year-to-Date Imports Down 5.1% as Canada, Brazil, and Mexico Remain Top Suppliers
From January to April 2025, the US imported 7.36 million tonnes of rolled steel, a 5.1% decrease y/y. Total steel imports fell 4.4% year-on-year to 9.88 million tonnes. Key import products included:
- Hot-dip galvanized sheets: 710,870 tonnes (-28.6% y/y)
- Oil industry tubular products: 735,500 tonnes (+16.3% y/y)
- Cold-rolled flat products: 626,680 tonnes (-6.2% y/y)
- Top suppliers for the first four months of 2025 were:
- Canada: 2.06 million tonnes (-12.4% y/y)
- Brazil: 1.76 million tonnes (+0.4% y/y)
- Mexico: 1.29 million tonnes (-9.6% y/y)
In full-year 2024, the US imported 22.5 million tonnes of rolled steel (+3.7% y/y) and 28.86 million tonnes of total steel (+2.5% y/y). Key suppliers remained Canada (6.56Mt), Brazil (4.49Mt), and Mexico (3.52Mt).
US steel production in 2024 dropped 2.4% y/y to 79.5 million tonnes, placing the country among the top 10 steel producers globally, with world output totaling 1.84 billion tonnes (-0.9% y/y), according to World Steel.
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