US HRC imports drop 11.9 percent in December

According to preliminary census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of hot rolled sheets totaled 146,857 mt in December, down 11.9 percent from November and down 31.1 percent from December 2015 levels. By value, HRC imports totaled $80.4 million in December 2016, compared to $90.0 million in the previous month and $101.2 million in the same month last year.
 
The US imported the most HRC from Canada in December, with 64,315 mt, compared to 66,552 mt in November and 53,934 mt in December 2015. Other top sources of imported HRC in December include Mexico, with 18,434 mt; Japan, with 17,877 mt; Korea, with 11,401 mt; Netherlands, with 9,440 mt; and Belgium, with 6,030 mt.

 

For the full-year 2016, HRC imports to the US totaled 2,610,487 mt, down 25.2 percent from 2015. By value, US HRC imports in 2016 totaled $2.04 billion, compared to $1.83 billion in 2015.