The United States imported a total of 1,560,000 net tons of steel in October 2009, including 1,177,000 net tons of finished steel, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), bringing imports for the two materials up 29 percent and 15 percent, respectively, from the previous month's totals.

This was the highest monthly total import figure since February.

At the present rate, annualized total steel imports in 2009 are at 16 million net tons, down 50 percent from last year, while total finished steel imports this year are expected to reach 14.4 million, down 45 percent from 2008. Through 10 months, the year-to-date market share for finished steel imports is an estimated 22 percent. In October, finished steel import market share was an estimated 18 percent.

Between September and October, several key finished steel products saw importing increases, including reinforcing bars (105 percent), wire rods (55 percent), hot rolled bars (42 percent), line pipe (35 percent) and oil country goods (29 percent).

Meanwhile, steel production in the U.S. has risen from a year ago.

In the week ending Nov. 28, domestic raw steel production came to 1,499,000 net tons, 24 percent more than the same period last year, when the nation's steel plants produced 1,209,000 tons. As of last weekend, steel plants were operating at 62.8 percent capacity, up from 50.7 percent capacity at the same point in 2008.

Adjusted year-to-date production through last Saturday was 56,812,000 tons, at a capability utilization rate of 50.2 percent. That is a 40.7 percent decrease from the 95,661,000 tons produced during the same period last year, when the utilization rate was 84.7 percent.

Despite these gains in production, many cost-cutting efforts are still in effect. Currently, steelmakers are shuttering plants in the U.S. in an attempt to create a smaller, more efficient industry, and are increasingly looking abroad for production opportunities.

According to a Wall Street Journal report this week (subscription required):

Arcelor's chief executive officer, Lakshmi Mittal, said the U.S. doesn't offer significant growth and that his company's investment will focus on emerging countries. Mr. Mittal said the Luxembourg-based company, the world's largest steelmaker, could shrink production permanently in the U.S. and still maintain its market share.

Mittal said his company is "trying to reconfigure so about half of its production comes from developing countries, up from about 40 percent currently."

In October, the AISI says, the largest volumes of finished steel imports from offshore came from the following countries: South Korea (102,000 net tons, up 59 percent from September); Japan (91,000 net tons, up 76 percent); Turkey (69,000 net tons, up 509 percent); the Netherlands (63,000 net tons, up 170 percent); and India (52,000 net tons, up 32 percent).

Based on the first 10 months of 2009, finished steel imports from China would annualize at 1.6 million net tons, more than any other offshore supplier.

The World Steel Association (worldsteel) forecasts that worldwide steel use will decline 8.6 percent in 2009. This estimate, released in October, is an improvement from the initial prediction of a 14.1 percent decline in 2009, with figures boosted by strong steel demand in China.

China's crude steel production for October 2009 was 51.7 million metric tons, while the U.S. produced 5.9 million metric tons during the same period.

Resources

Preliminary Steel Imports Increase 29% in October
American Iron and Steel Institute, Nov. 24, 2009

This Week's Raw Steel Production: Week Ending November 28, 2009
American Iron and Steel Institute

Steelmakers Downsize Once Again (subscription required)
by Robert Guy Matthews
The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 1, 2009

worldsteel Short Range Outlook
The World Steel Association (worldsteel), Oct. 12, 2009

October 2009 Crude Steel Production
The World Steel Association (worldsteel), Nov. 20, 2009