CBFC: Imports and Exports of US Brass mill products declined in June

By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

September 22, 2016 03:05:31 AM

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster): According to the Copper and Brass Fabricators Council (CBFC), the imports of brass mill products by the US during the month of June this year have dropped considerably over the previous year. Also, exports registered sharp decline year-on-year during the month.

June ’16 Imports

According to data, the US imports of brass mill products during June this year totaled 40.921 million lb, down significantly by 7.2% when compared with 44.116 million lb imports registered during May 2015.

The main exporter of brass mill products to the US during June was Germany. The total imports from Germany during the month totaled 9.584 million lb. South Korea followed Germany with total exports to US amounting to 4.948 million lb. In third place was Mexico. The brass mill products imports by the US from Mexico totaled 4.857 million lb during the month. The other key exporters were Canada (3.544 million lb) and Vietnam (2.862 million lb).

Imports by Product Type

Imports of all sheet, strip, plate and foil products totaled 13.911 million lb in June. All pipe and tube products imports totaled 15.135 million lb. Imports of all profiles, rods and bars totaled 8.326 million lb. Copper alloy wire imports totaled 3.549 million lb.

June ’16 Exports

In accordance with the data released by the CBFC, the US exports of brass mill products totaled 21.021 million lb in June this year, lower by 4.1% when matched with the exports of 21.929 million lb during June 2015.

The key export destination for US brass mill products during June ’16 was Mexico. The exports to Mexico totaled 8.200 million lb. The other key importers of US brass mill products during the month were Canada (5.244 million lb), Saudi Arabia (1.111 million lb), China (937,153 lb) and Germany (718,825 lb).

Exports by Product Type

Exports of all sheet, strip, plate and foil products totaled 7.270 million lb in June this year. All pipe and tube products exports totaled 4.614 million lb. Exports of all profiles, rods and bars totaled 7.015 million lb. Copper alloy wire exports totaled 2.121 million lb.

Year-to-date Imports/Exports

For the first six months of the year, US imported 231.273 million lb of brass mill products. This is 12.0% lower when compared with the imports of 261.342 million lb in the same year-ago period. Exports during the initial six months of 2016 totaled 168.695 million lb, compared with 129.078 million lb in the same 2015 period, an increase of nearly 31%.

The CBFC noted that the export data for three months-February, March and April are likely to contain approximately 45 million pounds of products wrongly classified as copper rod and bar by importers/brokers. An inquiry has been initiated into the matter so as to remove this error from the Year-To-Date data at the earliest.

The table below provides the details of imports of brass mill products during the initial six months of the current year.

The details of exports of brass mill products during January to June this year are as follows:-

About CBFC

The Copper and Brass Fabricators Council is a non-profit membership trade association open to any person, firm, or corporation engaged in the fabrication or production in the United States of products made, in whole or in part, from copper or copper alloys. 

Generally, the member companies are engaged in the production of copper and copper alloy sheet and strip, rod and bar, plumbing tubing, OEM or air-conditioning tubing, wire, extrusions, shapes and profiles, forgings, and fittings.  These products are used chiefly in the automotive, construction, and electrical/electronic industries. 

There are currently nineteen member companies who produce over 80% of all copper and brass mill products produced in the United States.