US steel and aluminium imports fell 8.5 per cent from August 2025 to May 2026, as Chinese imports dropped sharply while Thailand and other Asian suppliers gained ground.{alcircleadd}
US imports of steel and aluminium declined 8.5 per cent between August 2025 and May 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to data from the German Economic Institute (IW).
China saw one of the sharpest declines, with imports falling 34 per cent, equivalent to roughly USD 7.9 billion. Germany also recorded a 10.5 per cent decline, or nearly USD 1.2 billion.
The shift comes as exporters face different tariff burdens in the US. China faced an effective tariff of 48 per cent, compared with 21 per cent for Germany, making Chinese metal significantly more expensive to bring into the US market.
While China and Germany lost ground, Thailand’s imports to the US rose 31 per cent, lifting its market share by 1.3 percentage points to 4.4 per cent. Imports from Vietnam, Japan and India also increased.
Germany’s US market share, meanwhile, slipped 0.2 percentage points to 7.4 per cent.
The changes highlight how US tariff policy is reshaping aluminium and steel trade flows, with some suppliers losing access or competitiveness while others gain a larger share of the market. Recent tariff adjustments on certain products have given Germany and the European Union a relative advantage over China, although high additional duties continue to create challenges for exporters.
For the US aluminium market, the numbers point to a changing supply map: overall imports are falling, but the countries supplying those imports are changing rapidly.