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 67,309 mt in May 2019, up 99.3 percent from April and up 9.5 percent from May 2018 levels. By value, beam imports totaled $48.2 million in May 2019, compared to $22.9 million in the previous month and $46.9 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most beams from Korea in May, with 30,734 mt, compared to 191 mt in April and 16,331 mt in May 2018. Other top sources of imported beams in May include Luxembourg, with 12,527 mt; Taiwan, with 9,989 mt; Mexico, with 6,247 mt; and Japan, with 3,380 mt.