According to export data from the US Department of Commerce, US exports of heavy structural shapes (including U, I, H, L, and T section beams) totaled 21,231 mt in December 2018, down 21.6 percent from November and down 44.5 percent from December 2017 levels. By value, beam exports totaled $22.2 million in December, compared to $28.5 million in the previous month and $33.7 million in December 2017.
The US shipped the most beams to Canada in December with 16,133 mt, compared to 28,133 mt in November and 20,179 mt in December 2017. Other top destinations included Mexico, with 3,142 mt. There were no other significant destinations (1,000 mt or more) for US beam exports in December.
As for the full-year 2018, US beam exports totaled 452,138 mt, up 0.2 percent from 2017 totals. By value, beam exports totaled $436.7 million in 2018, compared to $403.5 million in 2017.