The US is leaning heavily on foreign uranium to power the world’s largest commercial nuclear fleet.
Owners and operators of US civilian nuclear power reactors purchased 55.9 million pounds of triuranium oxide (U₃O₈) equivalent in 2024, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Of that total, 51.6 million pounds came from foreign sources, meaning foreign-origin uranium accounted for 92% of US utility purchases.
The figures highlight the scale of North America’s uranium supply gap. While the US operates 94 nuclear reactors with a combined net generating capacity of nearly 100 gigawatts, the country’s domestic uranium supply remains a small part of total utility demand.
In 2024, US-origin uranium accounted for just 4.3 million pounds of utility purchases, or 8% of the total.
Foreign supply dominates
The 2024 figures mark a sharp long-term shift in the US nuclear fuel supply chain.
In 1994, foreign-origin uranium accounted for 41% of US utility purchases. By 2024, that share had more than doubled, despite a modest year-on-year lift in domestic purchases.
Canada was the largest source of uranium delivered to US utilities in 2024, accounting for 36% of total deliveries. Kazakhstan followed with 24%, Australia supplied 17%, Uzbekistan contributed 9%, and Namibia and Russia each accounted for 4%. US-origin material accounted for 8%.
Nuclear scale, supply risk
The supply mix matters because nuclear power remains a major part of US electricity generation. The country’s reactor fleet is the largest in the world by commercial nuclear generating capacity, ahead of France, China, and Russia, and accounts for about 30% of worldwide nuclear electricity generation.
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