According to final census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of heavy structural shapes (including U, I, H, L, and T section beams) totaled 34,516 mt in July 2020, up 49.6 percent from June but down 28.8 percent from July 2019 levels. By value, beam imports totaled $24.5 million in July 2020, compared to $17.4 million in the previous month and $34.9 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most beams from Korea in July, with 15,536 mt, compared to 1,112 mt in June and 8,827 mt in July 2019. Other top sources of imported beams in July include Mexico, with 11,294 mt; Canada, with 2,321 mt; Germany, with 1,816 mt; and United Kingdom, with 1,801 mt.