US import of specialty steel drops by 2%

US import of specialty steel drops by 2%

As per the data published by Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA), imports of total specialty steel products in US amounted to 552'516 tons in the first ten months of 2003 with a 2% decrease compared to the same period of 2002. Moreover, US specialty steel consumption also dropped by 2% to 2.2 million tons in the same period. US stainless steel imports decreased by 7% to 413'721 tons in the aforementioned period while consumption of stainless steel fell by 2% to 1.8 million tons. US imported 253'990 tons of stainless strip in January-October 2003 period, with an increase of 2%. Stainless strip consumption dropped by 2% to 1.3 million tons. Imports of stainless steel plate were down by 15% to 41'584 tons while the demand for the product amounted to 237'012 tons, up by 10%. Imports of stainless rod and stainless steel bar decreased by 38% and 14% to 30'746 tons and 59'208 tons respectively.