According to delayed final census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of hot rolled sheets totaled 166,272 mt in December 2018, down 4.8 percent from November but up 19.9 percent from December 2017 levels. By value, HRC imports totaled $124.2 million in December 2018, compared to $135.5 million in the previous month and $88.9 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most HRC from Canada in December, with 67,574 mt, compared to 64,076 mt in November and 86,214 mt in December 2017. Other top sources of imported HRC in December include Mexico, with 36,790 mt; Korea, with 27,249 mt; Germany, with 10,601 mt; Netherlands, with 7,152 mt; and Vietnam, with 5,781 mt.
For the full-year 2018, US HRC imports totaled 2,352,211 mt, up 22.6 percent from 2017 totals. By value, HRC imports totaled $1.75 billion in 2018, compared to $1.21 billion in 2017.