Based on reported import licenses, US long products imports fell 6% from 359,000 short tons in October, 2021 to 336,000 tons last month. The decline was mainly due to lower wire rod imports from Egypt and Canada, as well as lower rebar imports from Algeria, Egypt and Mexico.
Long products imports in the first ten months of 2022 were 25% higher than in the same period last year with the highest volume increases coming from wire rod (+35%), rebar (+18%), and parallel flange sections (+37%).
US long products import licenses
January 2015 to October 2022
Short tons
Construction of the foundation for a Senvion 3.2M114 wind turbine in the Kreuzstetten IV wind farm by Kwerdenker, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Based on reported import licenses, US flat products imports fell 25% from 948,000 short tons in October, 2021 to 712,000 tons in October, 2022. The decline was mainly due to lower hot rolled imports from Turkey, South Korea, Mexico and Canada. Hot dip galvanized imports also fell significantly from Vietnam, South Africa, Canada and Mexico.
Based on January to September imports and October import licenses, US flat products imports for the first ten months of 2022 were 7% higher than in the same period last year with cold rolled +24%, hot dip galvanized +9%, cut plate +5% and hot rolled -1%.
US flat products import licenses from US Steel Import Monitor
Worldsteel reported crude steel production in China at 87.0 million metric tonnes in September, 17.6% higher than in September, 2021. Chinese production in the first nine months of 2022 was 3.5% 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 4.1 million tonnes in September, 11.7% higher than in September, 2021. Net finished steel exports over the first nine months of 2022 were 1.5% higher than in the first nine months of 2021.
China produced 87.0 million tonnes this September, accounting for 57% of world output and rising 17.6% on September, 2021. In contrast, world crude steel production outside China was 64.6 million tonnes, declining 11% on last September.
The countries which contributed the most to this year-on-year decline include Japan (-12.3%), South Korea (-15.4%), Turkey (-19.4%) and the United States (-7.5%).
World crude steel production in the first nine months of 2022 was 3.8% lower than in the same period last year while China’s output over the same period fell 3.5%.
In its latest Short Range Outlook (SRO), published yesterday, Worldsteel expects world steel demand to be 1,797 million metric tonnes in 2022 and 1,815 million tonnes in 2023. The new forecast expects a 2.3% steel demand decline in 2022 and a 1.0% increase in 2023, lowering its expectations compared to their April, 2022 forecast by 2.7% in 2022 and by 1.2% in 2023.
China accounted for 52% of world steel demand in 2021 and is expected to account for 51% in 2022 and 50% in 2023. Chinese steel demand is expected to decline by 4.0% in 2022 and remain flat in 2023.
After a 13.5% increase in steel demand in 2021, steel demand outside of China is forecast to decline by 0.5% in 2022 and rise by 2.0% in 2023. European Union plus UK demand is now expected to decline by 3.5% in 2022 and again decline by 1.3% in 2023. USMCA (former NAFTA) demand is forecast to rise by 0.9% in 2022 and rise again by 1.8% in 2023.
Belts or chains of a pig iron casting machine with the moulds filled by liquid hot pig iron before cooling it with water and turning it into hard ingots of pig iron. Ukraine, February, 2018 by Blast furnace chip worker, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Based on reported import licenses, US long products imports dropped 37% from 383,000 short tons in September, 2021 to 240,000 tons last month. The decline was mainly due to lower rebar imports from Algeria, Mexico, and Turkey, together with lower wire rod imports from a number of countries including Egypt, Canada, and Algeria.
Long products imports in the first nine months of 2022 were 27% higher than in the same period last year with the highest volume increases coming from wire rod (+44%) and rebar (+19%).
