According to delayed final census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of plates in coil totaled 91,051 mt in December 2018, down 17.1 percent from November but up 0.2 percent from December 2017 levels. By value, plates in coil imports totaled $71.9 million in December 2018, compared to $85.6 million in the previous month and $60.0 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most plates in coil from Canada in December, with 47,478 mt, compared to 56,538 mt in November and 51,201 mt in December 2017. Other top sources of imported plates in coil in December include Germany, with 13,817 mt; Mexico, with 8,764 mt; Sweden, with 7,651 mt; Japan, with 3,721 mt; and Netherlands, with 3,609 mt.
For the full-year 2018, US plates in coil imports totaled 1,402,119 mt, up 15.3 percent from 2017 totals. By value, plates in coil imports totaled $1.07 billion in 2018, compared to $830.6 million in 2017.