By Paul Ploumis

ALBANY (Scrap Monster): The latest trade data published by the Copper and Brass Fabricators Council (CBFC) indicates that imports of brass mill products by the US during the month of March this year have declined marginally when matched with the previous year. On the other hand, monthly exports rose modestly over the previous year.

Imports-March ‘17

The US imports of brass mill products during March this year totaled 39.978 million lb. This is slightly lower by 0.40% when matched with the imports of 40.125 million lb during the same month a year before.

Germany continued to be the top exporter of brass mill products to the US during the month. The imports from Germany during the month totaled 9.600 million lb. The imports from Mexico totaled 4.324 million lb during the month. The other key exporters of brass mill products to the US were South Korea (4.046 million lb), Canada (3.535 million lb) and Vietnam (2.510 million lb).

Imports of all sheet, strip, plate and foil products totaled 113.337 million lb in March. All pipe and tube products imports totaled 13.673 million lb. The imports of all profiles, rods and bars totaled 9.581 million lb. The US imported 3.387 million lb of copper alloy wire during the month.

Exports-March ‘17

The exports of brass mill products by the US totaled 24.918 million lb during the month, rising significantly by nearly 15% over the previous year. The exports during the same month last year had totaled 21.717 million lb.

The primary importer of US brass mill products during the month was Mexico. The exports to Mexico totaled 9.103 million lb. The other key export destinations were Canada (7.293 million lb), China (1.734 million lb), Saudi Arabia (1.082 million lb) and South Korea (713, 517 lb).

Exports of all sheet, strip, plate and foil products totaled 9.698 million lb in March this year. All pipe and tube products exports totaled 5.233 million lb. Exports of all profiles, rods and bars totaled 9.581 million lb. Copper alloy wire exports totaled 2.052 million lb.

Cumulative Trade Data

The combined imports of brass mill products by the US during the initial three-month period of the year totaled 113.860 million lb, up by 6% over the corresponding period last year. The country’s imports had totaled 107.953 million lb during Jan-Mar ’16. The cumulative exports jumped higher by 10% from 59.683 million lb in Jan-Mar ’17 to 65.582 million lb during the first three months of 2017.

The month-wise import details of US brass mill products in 2017 are provided below:-

The table below provides the month-wise breakup of US brass mill products export.