U.S. steel imports declined sharply in February 2025, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Census Bureau reported by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Total steel imports fell to 2.2 mln tons, including 1.62 mln tons of finished steel, down 27.2pct and 29.6pct, respectively, from January levels.
Despite the monthly drop, year-to-date imports remain higher. For the first two months of 2025, total steel imports rose 5.7pct YoY to 3.93 mln tons, while finished steel imports climbed 7.4pct to 3.66 mln tons.
Finished steel accounted for an estimated 22pct of the U.S. market in February and 24pct over the January-February period.
One of the few product categories to see a month-over-month increase was cut length plates, which rose by 19pct. In February, the top sources of U.S. steel imports were Canada with 481,000 tons (down 26pct from January), Brazil with 445,000 tons (down 24pct), Mexico with 279,000 tons (down 41pct), South Korea with 194,000 tons (down 41pct), and Japan with 114,000 tons (up 18pct).