According to preliminary census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of heavy structural shapes (including U, I, H, L, and T section beams) totaled 91,585 mt in July 2017, up 2.9 percent from June and up 47.5 percent from July 2016 levels. By value, beam imports totaled $57.5 million in July 2017, compared to $56.5 million in the previous month and $38.0 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most beams from Luxembourg in July, with 24,118 mt, compared to 9,463 mt in June and 9,893 mt in July 2016. Other top sources of imported beams in July include Korea, with 15,689 mt; Mexico, with 13,086 mt; United Kingdom, with 13,045 mt; Spain, with 12,839 mt; and Germany, with 5,858 mt.