U.S. steel imports spike in October

U.S. steel imports rose 12.7% in October, month-over-month, to 4.4 million net tons, driven by volume increases from Brazil, South Korea and Turkey.    U.S. steel imports rose 12.7 percent in October, month-over-month, to 4.4 million net tons, driven by volume increases from Brazil, South Korea and Turkey, according to the American Institute for International Steel.
   The October import volume was nearly 42-percent higher than the tonnage recorded for same period last year. 
   Brazil, the largest supplier, shipped 642,000 net tons to the United States, more than 42-percent higher than in the previous month, and almost 58-percent higher than a year earlier, AIIS noted.
   Imports from South Korea reached 550,000 net tons, up 41.4 percent from September and 30.6 percent from October of last year, while imports from Turkey jumped more than 88 percent to 327,000 net tons, more than quadruple the amount from the previous October. 
   Steel volumes from Canada and Mexico in October were relatively unchanged from the previous months, with imports from Canada increased 3.1 percent to 547,000 net tons; imports from Mexico dipped 3.3 percent to 355,000 net tons. 
   Imports from the European Union dropped 7.2 percent to 604,000 net tons, though this was still 46.2-percent higher than a year earlier, AIIS said. The European Union shipped the most steel to the United States, year-to-date, at 5.74 million net tons, nearly 43-percent more than during the same time in 2013. 
   “The October imports increase comes as little surprise, with the U.S. economy coming off a strong spring and summer,” AIIS stated.