WASHINGTON, D.C.-Based on preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that the U.S. imported a total of 1,634,000 net tons (NT) of steel in January, including 1,257,000 NT of finished steel (up 16 percent and 11 percent, respectively, vs. December final data).

Annualized total and finished steel imports in 2010 would be 19.6 and 15.1 million NT, respectively, up 21% and 6% vs. 2009. Total imports were highest monthly amount since January 2009. Finished imports recorded their highest amount since March of 2009. Finished steel import market share was an estimated 18% in January, which is around 3 percentage points higher than in August 2009.