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 58,009 mt in February 2020, up 57.8 percent from January and up 74.8 percent from February 2019 levels. By value beam imports totaled $33.8 million in February 2020, compared to $24.3 million in the previous month and $25.1 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most beams from Korea in February, with 21,422 mt, compared to 9,593 mt in January and 16,390 mt in February 2019. Other top sources of imported beam in February include Luxembourg, with 14,838 mt; Mexico, with 13,550 mt; Canada, with 2,543 mt; and Germany, with 2,307 mt.