U.S. steel import permits increased by 6.6% month on month in March

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) announced steel import permit applications for March 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 reached 1.773 million net tons (NT) in March. This figure was up 6.6% compared to the 1.663 million tons of permit tonnage recorded in February and increased by 5.5% compared to February’s final import total of 1.679 million tons.

Finished steel import permits in March were calculated at 1.313 million tons. This amount marked a 10.8% increase compared to February’s final import total of 1.185 million tons. Finished steel imports were estimated to account for approximately 16% of the U.S. steel market in March, while the market share for the first three months of the year stood at 15%.

Looking at the first three months of the year, when March SIMA permits and February final import data are combined, total U.S. steel imports amounted to 5.102 million tons, while finished steel imports totaled 3.747 million tons. Accordingly, total and finished steel imports declined by 34.7% and 34.9%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

By product category, the strongest increases in March permits compared to February final imports were recorded in plates in coils (167%), cut-to-length plate (141%), hot rolled sheet (72%), wire drawing (44%), and heavy structural shapes (23%). On a year-to-date basis, the most notable increase compared to the same period last year was seen in tin-free steel, up 21%.

By country, the largest steel import permit applications in March were for South Korea, Brazil, Canada, Vietnam, and Mexico. Import permits from South Korea declined by 3% month on month to 298,000 tons, while permits from Brazil increased by 19% to 293,000 tons. Imports from Canada rose by 27% to 285,000 tons, while imports from Vietnam surged by 153% to 173,000 tons. Import permits from Mexico fell by 20% to 140,000 tons.

Considering the first three months of 2026, the largest steel suppliers to the U.S. were South Korea, Canada, and Brazil. During this period, imports from South Korea increased by 15% to 888,000 tons, while imports from Canada declined by 55% to 728,000 tons and imports from Brazil fell by 51% to 717,000 tons.