US steel import licenses up 5.2% in February

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) announced steel import permit applications for February, based on Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

According to the data, total U.S. steel import permit applications in February reached 1.651 million net tons (NT). This figure showed a 5.2% increase compared to the 1.569 million tons of permit tonnage recorded in January, while remaining nearly at the same level as the January final import total of 1.65 million tons.

Finished steel import permits in February were calculated at 1.189 million tons. This amount indicated a 4.8% decrease compared to the January final import total of 1.249 million tons. While the share of finished steel imports in the U.S. steel market in February was estimated at approximately 15%, the market share for the first two months of the year also stood at 15%.

Looking at the data for the first two months of the year, when February SIMA permits and January final imports are evaluated together, the total U.S. steel imports were 3.3 million tons and finished steel imports were 2.438 million tons. Thus, total and finished steel imports decreased by 37.9% and 38.0%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

By product basis, the strongest increases in February permits compared to January final imports were recorded in structural pipe and tubing (41%), hot rolled bars (31%), line pipe (31%), billets, blooms, and slabs (15%), and wire rods (14%). Since the beginning of the year, the most notable increases compared to the same period last year were 15% in tin-free steel and 13% in heavy structural shapes.

Examining by country, the largest import permit applications in February were for South Korea, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan. Import permits from South Korea increased by 2% compared to January to 291,000 tons, while import permits from Canada increased by 6% to 231,000 tons. Import permits from Brazil increased by 28% to 226,000 tons, while import permits from Mexico remained at 175,000 tons with a 26% decrease. Import permits from Japan increased by 203% to 127,000 tons.

When the first two months of 2026 are considered, the largest steel suppliers to the U.S. were South Korea, Canada, and Mexico. In this period, imports from South Korea were 576,000 tons with an 11% increase, while imports from Canada were recorded at 450,000 tons with a 60% decrease and imports from Mexico at 410,000 tons with a 46% decrease.