Based on reported import licenses, US long products imports stayed flat in December, 2022 compared to December, 2021 at 268,000 short tons. A decline in Wire Rod imports from Algeria and Egypt was offset by an increase in All Other Structural Shapes and Rebar imports.
US long products imports for the full year 2022 were 16% higher than in 2021 with the highest volume increase coming from Wire Rod (+22%), followed by Rebar (+9%) and Parallel Flange Sections (+28%).
US long products import licenses
January 2015 to December 2022
Short tons
Installation of rebar reinforcement for an elevator shaft at the new LIRR passenger concourse built in 2018. Photo by MTA Capital Construction Mega Projects, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Based on reported import licenses, US flat products imports dropped 33% from 1,010,000 short tons in December, 2021 to 672,000 tons in December, 2022. The decline was mainly due to lower hot rolled imports from Mexico, Canada and Vietnam, as well as lower hot dip galvanized imports from Vietnam, Turkey and the UAE.
Based on January to November imports and December import licenses, US flat products imports in 2022 were 2% lower than in 2021 with cold rolled +17%, cut plate +4%, hot dip galvanized -5%, and hot rolled -8%.
US flat products import licenses
January 2015 to December 2022
Short tons
Steel slab being cut in the casting process at ThyssenKrupp Bruckhausen Plant, Germany from Worldsteel Image Library
Worldsteel reported crude steel production in China at 74.5 million metric tonnes in November, 7.3% higher than in November, 2021. Chinese production in the first eleven months of 2022 was 1.6% lower than in the same period last year.
Data from China’s General Administration of Customs show China’s net finished steel exports (exports minus imports) at 4.8 million tonnes in November, 65% higher than in November, 2021. Net finished steel exports over the first eleven months of 2022 were 7.3% higher than in the first eleven months of 2021.
China produced 74.5 million tonnes this November, accounting for 54% of world output and rising 7.3% on last November. In contrast, world crude steel production outside China was 64.7 million tonnes, declining 12.0% on November, 2021.
The countries outside China which contributed most to this decline include Turkey (-30.7%), South Korea (-18.1%), Japan (-10.7%) and the US (-10.5%).
World crude steel production in the first eleven months of 2022 was approximately 3% lower than in the same period last year while China’s output fell 1.6%.
Based on reported import licenses, US long products imports fell 36% from 375,000 short tons in November, 2021 to 240,000 tons last month. The decline was mainly due to lower rebar imports from Algeria and Spain, as well as lower wire rod imports from Algeria, Canada and Brazil.
Long products imports in the first eleven months of 2022 were 18% higher than in the same period last year with the highest volume increases coming from wire rod (+26%), rebar (+10%), and parallel flange sections (+29%).
US long products import licenses
January 2015 to November 2022
Short tons
BSW GmbH, Kehl, Germany, 20.04.2016, continuous casting of steel billets, from Worldsteel Image Library
Based on reported import licenses, US flat products imports fell 36% from 1,043,000 short tons in November, 2021 to 672,000 tons in November, 2022. The decline was mainly due to lower hot rolled imports from Mexico, Japan, Turkey and Canada, as well as lower hot dip galvanized imports from Vietnam, Turkey, Brazil and Pakistan.
Based on January to October imports and November import licenses, US flat products imports in the first eleven months of 2022 were 1% higher than in the same period last year with cold rolled +19%, cut plate +7%, hot dip galvanized +1%, and hot rolled -5%.
US flat products import licenses
January 2015 to November 2022
Short tons
“Ex-CP and now Takargo owned 1552 built by MLW (Montreal Locomotive Works) roaring under hot summer sun with a heavy steel coil train from Setúbal harbor to Siderurgia Nacional.” by Nelso Silva from Porto, Portugal, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
