US steel imports fall 28.1% in November

Dec 23, 2008 | 01:24 PM | Diana Schwaeble

U.S. steel imports tumbled a whopping 28.1 percent in November from the previous month, a change expected by many industry experts and analysts given current economic conditions.

U.S. steel product imports totaled 2,033,034 tonnes in November, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Census Bureau, down from 2,828,486 tonnes in October and 3.5 percent below the November 2007 figure of 2,106,869 tonnes.

Michelle Applebaum, managing director of Michelle Applebaum Research Inc., Chicago, said that the numbers were consistent with her view for the fourth quarter. "Weak market sentiment, declining prices in the U.S., difficulty in obtaining trade credit as well as the most economic uncertainty we've seen in our lifetimes all continue to play out in reduced lead times in most markets and therefore reduced steel imports," she said a research note. ....