AIIS: U.S. steel imports decline again in April

The United States experienced a 30 percent year-over-year drop in steel import volumes in April to 2.46 million net tons.

   The United States imported 2.46 million net tons of steel in April, a 5.6 percent decline from March and a 30 percent drop from April 2015, according to the American Institute for International Steel.
   U.S. steel import volumes have been especially hindered by a decline in steel imports from Turkey. In April, the U.S. imported 122,000 net tons of steel from the Eurasian country, a 55.7 percent month-over-month decline and just over half the April 2015 total.
   Meanwhile, the U.S. imported 406,000 net tons of steel from Brazil during the month and 336,000 net tons of steel from South Korea, a year-over-year drop of 5.2 percent and 34.2 percent, respectively.
   In addition, U.S. steel imports from Japan tumbled 37 percent year-over-year in April to 143,000 net tons.
   The U.S. also imported 80,000 net tons of steel from Russia, less than half the April 2015 total.
   On a bright note, U.S. steel imports from Mexico rose 5.2 percent year-over-year during the month to 208,000 net tons.
   For the first four months of 2016, U.S. steel imports from South Korea, the European Union, Brazil and Japan, which combined, account for about 58 percent of all steel shipments to the U.S., all decreased by at least 31 percent year-over-year. Consequently, U.S. steel import volumes for the first four months of 2016 fell 34.4 percent from the corresponding period in 2015 to 9.98 million net tons.