Steel Exports Report: United States

Background Quick Facts:

The United States is the world’s seventeenth-largest steel • 6.3 million metric tons in 2020 
exporter (2020 ranking), excluding the European Union. In 2020, the • 33% steel export decline since 2015 
U.S. exported 6.3 million metric tons of steel, a 9 percent decrease • 2020 export volume down 9% and import value
from 7.1 million metric tons in 2019.   down 18% from 2019 
  • Export share of production up from 8% in 2019
The United States exported steel to about 174 countries and territories to 9% in 2020 
in 2020. The 10 countries highlighted in the map below represent the • Top three export markets: Canada, Mexico, China 
top markets for U.S. exports of steel, with the U.S. sending more • Largest producers: Nucor, Arcelor Mittal, U.S.
than 24.3 thousand metric tons to each and together accounting Steel Corp., & Steel Dynamics 
for 95 percent of U.S. steel imports in 2020. 

U.S. Export of Steel Mill Products - 2020, Metric Tons

Canada Mexico China Dominican Republic India Honduras Australia United Kingdom Korea, South Brazil Rest of the World

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Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance. Trade data from IHS Global, Ltd.

Steel Trade Balance

The United States’ deficit in steel products has persisted for well over a decade. Exports have decreased by 33 percent between
2015 and 2020, and imports have decreased by 45 percent. In 2020, the U.S. steel trade deficit amounted to 13.1 million metric
tons, a 31 percent decrease from 19.2 million metric tons in 2019. 

U.S. Trade in Steel Mill Products, Annual, Metric Tons

Direction Export Import
40M

20M

0M
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance. Trade data from IHS Global, Ltd.
Steel Exports Report: United States

Export Volume, Value, and Product

With the exception of 2017 when exports grew, export levels have fallen each year since 2015, by 7 percent in 2016, by 12 percent
in 2018, by 26 percent in 2019 and 33 percent in 2020 to reach 6.4 million metric tons (mmt). The value of imports in 2020 has
decreased 18 percent to $8.1 billion from $9.9 billion in 2019. 
 
In 2020, flat products accounted for the largest share of U.S. steel exports at 63 percent, or 4.0 m (mmt). Long products accounted
for 21 percent, or 1.3 mmt, followed by pipe and tube products at 9 percent (607.6 thousand mt), stainless products at 5 percent
(341.7 thousand mt), and semi-finished products at 2 percent (119.0 thousand mt). 

U.S. Export of Steel Mill Products, Metric Tons

Product Category Flat Products Long Products Pipe and Tube Semi-finished Stainless
6M

4M

2M

0M
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance. Trade data from IHS Global, Ltd.

U.S. Export of Steel Mill Products, U.S. Dollars

Product Category Flat Products Long Products Pipe and Tube Semi-finished Stainless
6bn

4bn

2bn

0bn
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance. Trade data from IHS Global, Ltd.
Steel Exports Report: United States

Exports by Top Market

The top 10 markets for U.S. steel exports represented 95 percent of the total steel export volume in 2020 at 6.4 million metrics tons
(mmt). Canada accounted for the largest share of U.S. exports at 47 percent (3.0 mmt), followed by Mexico at 43 percent
(2.8 mmt), China at 1 percent (71.6 thousand mt), the Dominican Republic at 0.6 percent (40.7 thousand mt), India at 0.6 percent
(37.4 thousand mt), Honduras at 0.5 percent (33.8 thousand mt), and Australia at 0.5 percent (29.3 thousand mt). 

U.S. Export of Steel Mill Products - 2020, Top 10 Sources, Metric Tons
Top Partner Countries
Rest of the World
0.35M (5.5%) Canada
Canada 3.02M (46.93%)
Mexico
Rest of the World
China
Dominican Republic
India
Honduras
Mexico 2.77M (43.06%) Australia
United Kingdom
Korea, South
Brazil

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance. Trade data from IHS Global, Ltd.

Trends in Exports to Top Markets

From 2019 to 2020, the volume and value of U.S. exports decreased to six of the United States’ top 10 export markets. Outside the
top 10 sources, other notable volume changes included U.S. exports to Belgium (-51%), Spain (-48%), and Ecuador (+116%). 

Percent Change in Exports to Top 10 Markets

Volume Percent Change Value Percent Change

-4.41%
Canada
-15.13%

-11.76%
Mexico
-20.02%

19.67%
China
1.47%

5.78%
Dominican Republic
-11.20%

-31.49%
India
-32.55%

73.88%
Honduras
41.36%

89.24%
Australia
37.76%

-15.46%
United Kingdom
-28.99%

-25.30%
Korea, South
-23.00%

-36.63%
Brazil
-28.22%

-40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance. Trade data from IHS Global, Ltd.
Steel Exports Report: United States

Top Markets by Steel Product Category

The top markets for U.S. exports by volume vary across types of steel products. The United States exported the largest share of flat
products to Mexico in 2020 at 53 percent, followed by Canada at 41 percent. Canada was the largest market for long
product exports at 64 percent, while Mexico received the second-largest share of long products at 27 percent. The United
States sent 56 percent of its pipe and tube exports to Canada as well, followed again by Mexico at 23 percent. The majority
of U.S. exports of semi-finished steel also went to Canada in 2020, at 37 percent. Here, Honduras was also a major market for semi-
finished steel at 28 percent. Canada was also the largest market for exported stainless products at 43 percent, followed
by Mexico at 31 percent.

Product Category Volume


 Flat Products  
Mexico 2,152,054.25
Canada 1,637,751.00
China 28,687.15
India 24,894.29
Australia 23,587.93
 Long Products  
Canada 855,530.35
Mexico 362,236.43
Dominican Republic 36,886.18
Bahamas 7,480.45
China 7,190.50
 Pipe and Tube  
Canada 338,470.89
Mexico 140,063.40
United Kingdom 15,057.10
Spain 9,893.75
Trinidad & Tobago 8,455.38
 Stainless  
Canada 146,800.96
Mexico 105,182.16
Brazil 13,386.91
China 9,287.81
Germany 7,574.05
 Semi-finished  
Canada 44,532.33
Honduras 32,815.45
China 20,154.75
Mexico 14,623.31
Taiwan 974.90

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance. Trade data from IHS Global, Ltd.
Steel Exports Report: United States
Overall Production and Export Share of Production

U.S. Export Share of Production, Millions of Metric Tons

Production Volume Apparent Consumption Export Volume Export Share of Production

15%
100M

12.15% 12.37%

50M
11.35%
9.77%
10%
8.86%
8.05%
0M
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

. 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

           

Production Volume 78.8M 78.5M 81.6M 86.6M 87.8M 72.7M

Apparent Consumption 104.7M 99.6M 106.1M 109.0M 107.0M 85.8M
Export Volume 9.6M 8.9M 10.1M 8.5M 7.1M 6.4M
Export Share of Production 12.15% 11.35% 12.37% 9.77% 8.05% 8.86%

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance. Trade data from IHS Global, Ltd.

Production decreased 17 percent from 87.8 mmt in 2019 to 72.7 mmt in 2020. Since 2015, apparent consumption (a measure of

steel demand) has consistently exceeded production. The gap between this measure of steel demand and production decreased to
-13.1 mmt in 2020 from –19.2 mmt in 2019. In 2020, export share of production stood at 8.9 percent, increasing slightly from
8.1 percent in 2019. 

Top Producers

The top six steel producers in the United States are a mix of foreign and domestically-owned companies and a mix of electric arc
furnace ("mini") mills and basic oxygen furnace (integrated) mills. The top three companies alone accounted for the majority of U.S.
crude steel production in 2019, at over 70 percent. 

U.S. Top Producers

Rank Company

1 Nucor Corporation
2 ArcelorMittal USA
3 United States Steel Corp.
4 Steel Dynamics Inc.
5 AK Steel Corporation
6 Commericial Metals
Production (mmt) Main Products
25.49 Bars, beams, sheets, plate
100.00 Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, plate, coated products, rails
15.37 Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, coated sheets, tubular products
8.92 Flat-rolled, structural, bars, rails
5.68 Hot-rolled, cold-rolled, galvanized, stainless, electrical
3.40 Rebar, bars, sections, billets

Source: World Steel Association: Hoover's; Bloomberg; Company websites

Steel Exports Report: Glossary

Apparent Consumption: Domestic crude steel production plus steel imports minus steel exports. Shipment data are not
available for all countries, therefore crude steel production is used as a proxy.

Export Market: Destination of a country’s exports.

Flat Products: Produced by rolling semi-finished steel through varying sets of rolls. Includes sheets, strips, and plates. Used
most often in the automotive, tubing, appliance, and machinery manufacturing sectors.

Import Penetration: Ratio of imports to apparent consumption.

Import Source: Source of a country’s imports.

Long Products: Steel products that fall outside the flat products category. Includes bars, rails, rods, and beams. Used in
many sectors but most commonly in construction.

Pipe and Tube Products: Either seamless or welded pipe and tube products. Used in many sectors but most commonly in
construction and energy sectors.

Semi-finished Products: The initial, intermediate solid forms of molten steel, to be re-heated and further forged, rolled,
shaped, or otherwise worked into finished steel products. Includes blooms, billets, slabs, ingots, and steel for castings.

Stainless Products: Steel products containing at minimum 10.5% chromium (Cr) offering better corrosion resistance than
regular steel.

Steel Mill Products: Carbon, alloy, or stainless steel produced by either a basic oxygen furnace or an electric arc furnace.
Includes semi-finished steel products and finished steel products. For trade data purposes, steel mill products are defined at
the Harmonized System (HS) 6-digit level as: 720610 through 721650, 721699 through 730110, 730210, 730240 through
730290, and 730410 through 730690. The following discontinued HS codes have been included for purposes of reporting
historical data (prior to 2007): 722520, 722693, 722694, 722910, 730410, 730421, 730610, 730620, and 730660.