Steel Imports May Reach Record in 2006

Get our your crying towels, ladies and gentlemen.

The AISI wants us to feel sorry for them. Again. By every measure, the steel industry is doing better than they have in years. But crying towels are still needed. Tears, it seems, are not enough.

The United States is likely to import a record amount of steel this year, a sign that it needs to address unfair trade practices by China and other Asian exporters, the American Iron and Steel Institute said.The United States is likely to import a record amount of steel this year, a sign that it needs to address unfair trade practices by China and other Asian exporters, the American Iron and Steel Institute said.

Over much of the last year, North American steel was the most expensive steel in the world!

This table (data from MEPS) shows global prices and prices in the EU, Asia and North America for steel over the last year. The last column is how much more the N. American price was, compared to the global average.

Month Global EU Asia N. Amer. N. Amer. Premium
Jan-06 555 544 467 653 118%
Feb 551 543 459 652 118%
Mar 566 574 469 654 116%
Apr 586 608 478 672 115%
May 618 654 499 702 114%
Jun 648 707 515 723 112%
Jul 653 717 511 731 112%
Aug 655 727 508 729 111%
Sep 652 730 508 718 110%
Oct 633 715 510 674 106%
Nov 630 716 517 658 104%
Dec 635 734 530 642 101%
Average 615 684 111%

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