According to delayed final census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of rebar totaled 34,148 mt in December 2018, down 27.7 percent from November and down 28.7 percent from December 2017. By value, rebar imports totaled $19.0 million in December 2018, compared to $27.5 million in the previous month and $27.7 million in the same month of 2017.
The US imported the most rebar from Italy in December, with 13,014 mt, compared to 11,337 mt in November. Other top sources of imported rebar in December include Bulgaria, with 5,982 mt; Portugal, with 5,913 mt; South Africa, with 4,272 mt; Mexico, with 2,977 mt; and Spain, with 1,038 mt.
For the full-year 2018, US rebar imports totaled 1,059,683 mt, down 21.3 percent from 2017 totals. By value, rebar imports totaled $618.9 million in 2018, compared to $633.3 million in 2017.