US steel import licenses jump 14% on month in December: Commerce

Total US steel imports are expected to rise on the month and on the year for December amid higher import licenses for oil country tubular goods and hot-rolled coil to close out 2023, according to the US Commerce Department data Jan. 4.

Licenses to import steel in December stood at 2.09 million mt, up 14% from November’s preliminary import count of 1.83 million mt. Compared with a year ago, licenses to import steel rose 9% from just under 2 million mt imported in December 2022.

The estimated finished steel import market share in December was 21% and is 21% for the full year of 2023, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Import licenses for OCTG surged 119% on the month to 151,861 mt, with South Korea accounting for the largest share at 46,710 mt.

Licenses to import sheet products rose from November across all major categories, with HRC seeing the biggest jump at 178,554 mt, up 35% from the prior month’s preliminary total. Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, last assessed US HRC imports at $850/st DDP Houston Jan. 3.

Import licenses for hot-dipped galvanized steel and cold-rolled coil each rose 11% on the month to 184,244 mt and 94,600 mt, respectively.

Among major product categories, rebar imports are expected to see the steepest drop in December, with licenses down 50% on the month at 34,357 mt amid a lack of licenses from Algeria and Egypt. Platts last assessed the weekly US rebar import price at $770/st on a DDP Houston basis Dec. 29.

Despite a 7% drop on the month, Canada is expected to remain the largest exporter of steel to the US in December, with 452,569 mt of steel from the country licensed for import in the final month of 2023.