According to preliminary census data from the US Department of Commerce, US imports of wire rod totaled 74,937 mt in December 2017, up 4.5 percent from November but down 18.3 percent from December 2016 levels. By value, wire rod imports totaled $48.3 million in December 2017, compared to $48.2 million in the previous month and $53.2 million in the same month last year.
The US imported the most wire rod from Canada in December, with 25,118 mt, compared to 32,132 mt in November and 26,683 mt in December 2016. Other top sources of imported wire rod in December include Brazil, with 16,385 mt; Japan, with 14,733 mt; India, with 9,851 mt; Malaysia, with 4,360 mt; and Mexico, with 2,381 mt.
For the full-year 2017, US wire rod imports totaled 1,408,050 mt, down 1.1 percent from the 1,423,185 mt imported in 2016. By value, US wire rod imports in 2017 totaled $836.4 million, compared to $742.9 million in 2016.
The top sources of imported wire rod in 2017 were Canada, with 379,890 mt; Brazil, with 157,853 mt; Japan, with 146,913 mt; Turkey, with 103,130 mt; and Germany, with 98,654 mt.