According to preliminary census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of mechanical tubing totaled 46,271 mt in December 2017, up 7.2 percent from November and up 21.6 percent from December 2016 levels. By value, mechanical tubing imports totaled $70.7 million in December 2017, compared to $63.1 million in the previous month and $47.7 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most mechanical tubing from Mexico in December, with 11,538 mt, compared to 11,039 mt in November 2017 and 11,590 mt December 2016. Other top sources of imported mechanical tubing in December include Canada, with 7,169 mt; Germany, with 6,151 mt; China, with 5,152 mt; and India, with 3,128 mt.
For the full-year 2017, US mechanical tubing imports totaled 607,624 mt, up 29.9 percent from the 467,706 mt imported in 2016. By value, US mechanical tubing imports in 2017 totaled $841.1 million, compared to $620.8 million in 2016.
The top sources of imported mechanical tubing in 2017 were Mexico, with 145,243 mt; Canada, with 113,501 mt; China, with 57,707 mt; Germany, with 56,774 mt; and India, with 32,404 mt.