Overall
steel imports declined by 2% last year and finished steel imports rose by
nearly 11%, according to preliminary U.S. Census Bureau data.
The United States imported 30.8 million tons of steel in 2022,
including 25.2 million tons of finished steel that would not need to be
further processed by American workers, such as those at steel companies at the
Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor.
Finished steel imports grabbed 24% of the market share last year
and 23% in December, according to the Census Bureau.
U.S. steelmakers, like the mills around the lakeshore in
Northwest Indiana, made 88.775 million net tons of steel last year, down from
94.5 million the previous year.
According to the Washington D.C.-based American Iron and Steel
Institute, the United States imported 2.8 million tons of steel in December,
which was up 8.6% as compared to the previous month. Finished imports totaled
1.84 million tons in December, which was down 4.8% compared to the previous
month.