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 36,756 mt in January 2020, up 98.6 percent from December but down 32.6 percent from January 2019 levels. By value, beam imports totaled $24.3 million in January 2020, compared to $14.2 million in the previous month and $38.7 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most beams from Mexico in January, with 11,784 mt, compared to 10,395 mt in December and 2,977 mt in January 2019. Other top sources of imported beams in January include Korea, with 9,593 mt; Luxembourg, with 5,027 mt; Canada, with 4,627 mt; and Japan, with 3,061 mt.