According to preliminary census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of standard pipe totaled 67,925 mt in December 2017, down 8.1 percent from November but up 16.5 percent from December 2016 levels. By value, standard pipe imports totaled $62.2 million in December 2017, compared to $65.9 million in the previous month and $49.5 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most standard pipe from Thailand in December, with 13,258 mt, compared to 12,047 mt in November and 1,642 mt in December 2016. Other top sources of imported standard pipe in December include Korea, with 11,344 mt; Canada, with 11,136 mt; United Arab Emirates, with 6,176 mt; Mexico, with 5,421 mt; and Vietnam, with 3,503 mt.
For the full-year 2017, US standard pipe imports totaled 1,056,932 mt, up 39.5 percent from the 757,798 mt imported in 2016. By value, US standard pipe imports in 2017 totaled $922.4 million, compared to $654.9 million in 2016.
The top sources of imported standard pipe in 2017 were Canada, with 179,033 mt; Korea, with 151,158 mt; Thailand, with 136,896 mt; United Arab Emirates, with 96,313 mt; and Vietnam, with 88,711 mt.