In April 2025, US metallurgical enterprises reduced their imports of rolled metal products by 11.8% month-over-month (m/m), totaling 1.61 million tons. This data was provided by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Total steel imports, including both rolled and semi-finished products, also experienced a significant drop of 17.1% m/m, reaching 2.07 million tons.
Changes in Import Categories
The largest increase in imports was seen in hot-dip galvanized flat products, which surged by 25.7% m/m, amounting to 200.08 thousand tons. Tinplate imports also saw a rise of 42.8% m/m, reaching 149.4 thousand tons. On the other hand, cold-rolled flat products saw a decline of 13.9% m/m, amounting to 140.4 thousand tons, while hot-dip galvanized sheets dropped by 25.1% m/m, to 139.45 thousand tons. Finished products represented 77.5% of total imports for the month.
Year-to-Date Import Data
In the first four months of 2025 (January-April), the United States reduced its imports of rolled products by 5.1% compared to the same period in 2024, totaling 7.36 million tons. Overall, total steel imports during this period amounted to 9.88 million tons, marking a 4.4% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Among the notable import categories, hot-dip galvanized sheets saw a decline of 28.6% y/y, totaling 710.87 thousand tons. However, products for the oil industry increased by 16.3% y/y, reaching 735.5 thousand tons. Cold-rolled flat products decreased by 6.2% y/y to 626.68 thousand tons.
Steel Import Sources
The main sources of steel imports to the United States for the January-April 2025 period were Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. Imports from Canada fell by 12.4% y/y to 2.06 million tons. Meanwhile, imports from Brazil saw a slight increase of 0.4% y/y, totaling 1.76 million tons. Imports from Mexico dropped by 9.6% y/y, totaling 1.29 million tons.
Historical Data and US Steel Production
As previously reported by GMK Center, in 2024, US imports of rolled steel increased by 3.7% compared to 2023, totaling 22.5 million tons. Total steel imports (including rolled and semi-finished products) also increased by 2.5% y/y, reaching 28.86 million tons. The main import sources in 2024 were Canada, Brazil, and Mexico, with 6.56 million tons, 4.49 million tons, and 3.52 million tons, respectively.
US steel production in 2024 fell by 2.4% compared to 2023, amounting to 79.5 million tons. On the global scale, total steel production in 2024 was 1.84 billion tons, reflecting a 0.9% decrease y/y. The United States remains one of the ten largest steel-producing countries globally, according to World Steel.
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