The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) announced the April steel import permit applications based on Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data published by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
According to the data, total U.S. steel import permit applications in April increased by 8.1% month-on-month to 1.945 million net tons (NT). This figure was higher than the 1.799 million tons of permit tonnage recorded in March and indicated a 10.0% increase compared to the final March import total of 1.769 million tons.
Finished steel import permits in April were calculated at 1.417 million tons. This amount represented an 8.5% increase compared to the final March import total of 1.306 million tons. During the same period, finished steel imports were estimated to account for approximately 17% of the U.S. steel market, while this ratio stood at 15% for the first four months of the year.
Looking at the first four months of 2026, when April SIMA permits and final March imports are evaluated together, total U.S. steel imports reached 7.044 million tons, while finished steel imports totaled 5.157 million tons. Thus, total and finished steel imports declined by 28.8% and 30.0%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
By product category, the strongest increases in April permits compared to final March imports were recorded in tin plate (+103%), other metallic coated sheets and strip (+60%), cold-rolled sheet (+42%), hot-rolled bar (+33%), and rebar (+30%). On a year-to-date basis, the most notable increase compared to the same period last year was in heavy structural shapes, which rose by 30%.
By country, the largest import permit applications in April were filed for South Korea, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, and Vietnam. Import permits from South Korea increased by 17% month-on-month to 342,000 tons, while permits from Mexico rose by 109% to 294,000 tons. Import permits from Canada declined by 14% to 246,000 tons, from Brazil by 43% to 166,000 tons, and from Vietnam by 22% to 138,000 tons.
Considering the first four months of 2026, the largest steel suppliers to the United States were South Korea, Canada, and Brazil. During this period, imports from South Korea increased by 28% to 1.225 million tons, while imports from Canada declined by 53% to 975,000 tons and imports from Brazil fell by 50% to 881,000 tons.
The statement also reminded that import permit data reflect tonnage requested in license applications rather than actual import volumes, and that final figures may differ.
Comments
No comment yet.