US crude metal and alloys imports down 26% YoY in Jan-Apr; exports drop by 19%

The U.S. imports of crude metal and alloys decreased from 1.64 million tonnes in the four-month period of 2018 to 1.21 million tonnes in the four-month period of 2019, which indicates a 26 per cent decrease year-on-year. Crude metal and alloys imports stood at 314,000 tonnes in April, down 18 per cent year-on-year.

Imports of crude metal and alloys registered a 0.64 per cent growth month-on-month, according to the latest Mineral Industry Survey report from US Geological Survey. Imports were 312,000 tonnes in March 2019.

On the export side, the U.S exported 83,600 tonnes of crude metal and alloys in January-April 2019 as compared to 103,000 tonnes in January-April 2018. This records a drop of 19 per cent on the year.

Crude metal and alloys export dropped 15 per cent or 3,700 tonnes year-on-year in April. Exports decreased from 25,500 tonnes to 21,800 tonnes. Exports of crude metal and alloys were up 4.3 per cent month-on-month.

The data also showed that the U.S. imported 541,000 tonnes of aluminium semi-finished products from the global market in the first four months of 2019 compared with 514,000 tonnes in the first four months of 2019. In April alone, imports stood at 143,000 tonnes, up 17 per cent year-on-year, but down 1.38 per cent month-on-month.