According to delayed final census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of tin plate totaled 65,275 mt in December 2018, down 2.1 percent from November and down 33.2 percent from December 2017 levels. By value, tin plate imports totaled $49.7 million in December 2018, compared to $49.2 million in the previous month and $68.8 million in the same month of 2017.
The US imported the most tin plate from the Netherlands in December, with 17,514 mt, compared to 26,035 mt in November and 19,415 mt in December 2017. Other top sources of imported tin plate in December include Germany, with 16,442 mt; Canada, with 8,860 mt; and China, with 4,284 mt.
For the full-year 2018, US tin plate imports totaled 697,818 mt, down 18.3 percent from 2017 totals. By value, tin plate imports totaled $721.2 million in 2018, compared to $820.2 million in 2017.