According to delayed final census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) totaled 120,616 mt in December 2018, down 21.2 percent from November and down 35.6 percent from December 2017 levels. By value, OCTG imports totaled $143.5 million in December 2018, compared to $168.9 million in the previous month and $223.9 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most OCTG from Mexico in December, with 20,780 mt, compared to 20,519 mt in November and 33,471 mt in December 2017. Other top sources of imported OCTG in December include Italy, with 15,856 mt; Austria, with 15,378 mt; Argentina, with 12,503 mt; Brunei, with 7,931 mt; and Philippines, with 7,097 mt.
For the full-year 2018, US OCTG imports totaled 2,519,010 mt, down 18.4 percent from 2017 totals. By value, OCTG imports totaled $2.84 billion in 2018, compared to $2.97 billion in 2017.