U.S. steel imports slide

November imports declined by more than 18%, settling at 3.63 million tons.    U.S. steel imports in November declined by more than 18 percent when compared to October, settling at 3.63 million tons.
   This marked the first drop in steel imports to the country in three months, according to the American Institute for International Steel.
   Despite the fall in November steel imports, they were still more than 40 percent higher than in November 2013. 
   Imports from Brazil showed the largest decline from October, falling nearly 39 percent to 396,000 net tons, AIIS noted. These imports from Mexico decreased by 26 percent to 263,000 net tons, and imports from Canada fell nearly 14 percent to 471,000 net tons.
   Steel imports from China, Russia and South Korea also showed steep month-to-month decreases while staying above the levels of a year earlier. Imports from the European Union, however, increased 17.3 percent from October — and 70.6 percent from last November — to 713,000 net tons, AIIS said.
   “Notwithstanding the November dip, year-to-date imports of 40.64 million net tons are more than 37-percent higher than the first 11 months of 2013,” the trade group said. “With domestically produced steel selling at much higher than global prices, expansion-minded companies naturally are looking to buy beyond the border.”