According to Page 7 of the USGS document "Iron and Steel Statistics" the number of U.S. imports for steel in the year 2002 stood at about 30%, give or take a few percentage points. Check me please, I'm no mathematician.
However, according to the trade doc "Paradise regained for scrap prices"U.S. imports rose by almost 20% in 2004 - despite an increase of U.S. steel production of 3.2% - due to a increase in demand of 12%. This is borne out by the simultaneous increase of Chinese exports by 20%, which could be construed as being produced to fill the American demand gap. The forecast, according to this trade publication, is for imports to rise dramatically - equal or greater to the percentage of this year's increases - in the immediate future.
Now, here's where my head swims. I'll admit that I'm no mathematician, but I see their numbers and it tells me this year we'll see imports rise above 50% for foreign steel. I could be wrong.
Since you appear to know more about this than I do, how about you crunch these numbers for me and I'll change the statement if your hypothesis is born out. I'm no Dan Rather, and I don't have to worry about "fixing" a printed error or begging my editor; I'm just a Blogger, and I just fix it.
How about it? Do you have the statistics for imports on armor grade steel? Do you have anything to back up your statement that this article is "blatantly false"? If you do, spit it out - if not, go find some documents to bear out your allegations, or else renounce them. I've based this article on documents and statements from the congressional record, but if you've got something real I'm ready to hear it...
If you don't have the statistics, then perhaps you should let me know on this thread.
A cursory glance at your post leads me thus: if imports are at 30%, and they rise another 20%, they are now at 36% (20%of 30%), not 50%.
Can't get the numbers to tie out but if production is 91.6 million tons and imports are 29.6 million tons that makes imports about 25% in 2002.
However, according to the trade doc "Paradise regained for scrap prices"U.S. imports rose by almost 20% in 2004 - despite an increase of U.S. steel production of 3.2% - due to a increase in demand of 12%.
If we assume 2003 steel imports and production were the same as 2002, (I'm sure they both increased) these increases would make production 94.5 million tons and imports 35.5 million tons. Imports would be 27.3% of that total.
Like I said, couldn't get the numbers to tie, Apparent Consumption=Production+Imports-Exports should equal 107 million tons.According to the chart it's 115.75.
Anyway, imports rose but still not close to 50%.