According to preliminary census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of hot rolled sheets totaled 148,356 mt in December 2020, up 35.8 percent from November and down 0.2 percent from December 2019 levels. By value, HRC imports totaled $94.3 million in December 2020, compared to $65.3 million in the previous month and $81.6 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most HRC from Canada in December, with 86,762 mt, compared to 56,347 mt in November and 84,756 mt in December 2019. Other top sources of imported HRC in December include Korea, with 30,105 mt; Netherlands, with 18,622 mt; Sweden, with 5,475 mt; and Japan, with 2,638 mt.