US pig iron, DRI imports plummet in February; scrap imports up [corrected]
US pig iron, DRI imports plummet in February; scrap imports up [corrected]
Published by:Christian Willbern<>
7 Apr 2025 @ 19:50 UTC
US pig iron imports in February plummeted by 71.8% from the previous month, reflecting weakened demand in January, when February cargoes were booked.
The US imported roughly 177,900 tonnes of pig iron in the month, the lowest monthly import levels since April 2022, according to the latest US Census Bureau trade data.
US mills reportedly maintainedsufficient pig iron supply in January,softening demand and dampening activity during the period.
Activity stalled during the month as market ambiguity brewed ahead of the US presidential inauguration on January 20, with most market participants uncertain on howpotential tariffs would affect the US pig iron market.
Steel output weakness and drops in end-use steel demand also softened US mill demand in January, indicated byweakened steel mill utilization rates and softer growth rates in the construction sector.
Brazilian pig iron shipments to the US subsequently fell by 73.9% to 89,252 tonnes in February, the lowest monthly import level since February 2023.
The US imported 431,155 tonnes of Brazilian pig iron between January and February, down by 37.3% from 688,049 tonnes from the corresponding period last year.
In February, Pennsylvania was the top Brazilian pig iron destination, followed closely by Mississippi, according to the US Census Bureau’s port-level statistics.
Ukrainian pig iron imports fell by 72.5% to 49,854 tonnes in February, the lowest level since February 2024.
Ukrainian pig iron imports through January and February reached 231,354 tonnes, up by 11.6% from the corresponding period last year.
According to its port-level statistics, the US Census Bureau reported that Mississippi was the only destination for Ukrainian pig iron in February.
US direct-reduced iron (DRI) imports also fell in February, registering a 48.8% drop from the prior month.
Imported DRI tonnages dropped to 87,865 tonnes in the month, the lowest level since November 2023.
According to port-level statistics, Ohio accounted for the majority of DRI imports in February.
In contrast to the decline in iron metallic imports, US ferrous scrap imports rose by 33.1% from January shipments.
Canadian ferrous scrap shipments into the US reached 288,013 tonnes in February, up by 2.6% from the prior month.
The month-on-month increase can be largely attributed to an increase in No1 bundles and shredded scrap shipments, with US imports of No1 Bundles increasing by 61.1% and shredded scrap import levels rising by 31.9% from January levels.
[An earlier version of this article misstated year-to-date US import volumes for pig iron, direct-reduced iron and ferrous scrap. The figures have been updated to reflect accurate data from the US Census Bureau, showing total year-to-date imports of 1.57 million tonnes, down by 16.2% from 1.88 million tonnes in the same period of 2024. Country- and product-level year-to-date figures for Canadian scrap, pig iron, and DRI have also been corrected.]