US increased pig iron imports from Ukraine by 2.2 times m/m in November

In November 2023, US steelmakers increased imports of pig iron from Ukraine by 2.2 times compared to November 2022, to 66.88 thousand tons. Raw material supplies fell by 0.3% compared to November 2022. This is evidenced by UN Comtrade data.

In January-November 2023, American steelmakers consumed 938.2 thousand tons of Ukrainian-made pig iron. This is an 85.5% increase compared to the same period in 2022. At the same time, imports of pig iron from Ukraine to the United States decreased by 39.9% compared to pre-war 2021.

In general, since the beginning of 2023, there has been a sharp increase in Ukrainian pig iron exports to the United States, with shipments amounting to 116.9 thousand tons and 156 thousand tons in January and February, respectively. The figure also exceeded 100 thousand tons in May and July – 123.95 and 119.6 thousand tons, respectively. In September and October, shipments fell sharply to their lowest level since August 2022, when 23.4 kt of pig iron were imported. Shipments resumed in November.

In 2022, the average monthly shipments amounted to 45.85 thousand tons. In 2023, this figure is 85.29 thousand tons, while in 2021 it was 140.2 thousand tons.

In January-November 2023, Ukraine exported 1.19 million tons of pig iron, down 3% compared to the same period in 2022. In November, the figure increased by 46% compared to the previous month and decreased by 1.2% y/y – to 77.36 thousand tons.

Thus, the US is the main consumer of pig iron from Ukraine. The US consumers account for 78.8% of total exports, while European countries account for 21.1%.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in November 2023, Ukraine increased pig iron production by 5.7% compared to October 2023, up to 541 thousand tons. Over 11 months, steelmakers produced 5.45 million tons of pig iron, down 11.3% y/y.