U.S. steel imports sink in August

The United States imported 3.02 million net tons of steel in August and 28.02 million net tons during the first eight months of 2015, year-over-year decreases of 18.5 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.    The United States imported 3.02 million net tons of steel in August, down 8.2 percent from July and 18.5 percent from August 2014, according to the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS).
   Imports from the European Union, Mexico and China drove the overall decline.
   U.S. steel imports for the month of August from:

• The European Union totaled 390,000 net tons, down 26.3 percent from July and down 33.5 percent from Aug. 2014.
• Mexico totaled 217,000 net tons, down 36.9 percent from July and down 33.4 percent from Aug. 2014.
• China totaled 158,000 net tons, down 44.5 percent from July and down 30.9 percent from Aug. 2014.
• Brazil totaled 517,000 net tons, up 24.8 percent from July and up 64.1 percent from Aug. 2014.
• Japan totaled 242,000 net tons, up 34.7 percent from July, but down 2.6 percent from Aug. 2014.
• Canada totaled 508,000 net tons, up 5 percent from July and up 2.2 percent from Aug. 2014.

   The United States imported a total of 28.02 million net tons of steel during the first eight months of 2015, a year-over-year decline of 2.2 percent.
   U.S. steel imports for the first eight months of 2015 from:

• Russia totaled 1.42 million net tons, down 55 percent year-over-year.
• Mexico totaled 1.94 million net tons, down nearly 21 percent year-over-year.
• Brazil totaled 3.76 million net tons, up over 21 percent year-over-year.
• Turkey totaled 2.02 million net tons, up 54.7 percent year-over-year.

   U.S. steel imports have declined somewhat steadily since Oct. 2014, when the U.S. imported a total of 4.4 million net tons of steel.
   “Even in the Information Age, steel is an essential component of economic growth,” AIIS said in a statement. “When companies steadily decrease their purchases of steel, it is a clear sign that we are not seeing the pickup in construction and other indicators of expansion that are necessary for a stable, sustained recovery.”