CBFC: US Brass mill products imports tumbled 9% in May; Exports remained flat

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 May this year have dropped considerably over the previous year. On the other hand, exports remained essentially flat year-on-year during the month.

May ’16 Imports

According to data, the US imports of brass mill products during May this year totaled 42.740 million lb, down significantly by 9.2% when compared with 47.069 million lb imports registered during May 2015.

The main exporter of brass mill products to the US during May was Germany. The total imports from Germany during the month totaled 11.147 million lb. South Korea followed Germany with total exports to US amounting to 4.868 million lb. In third place was Mexico. The brass mill products imports by the US from Mexico totaled 4.678 million lb during the month. The other key exporters were Canada (3.876 million lb) and Vietnam (3.706 million lb).

Imports by Product Type

Imports of all sheet, strip, plate and foil products totaled 14.296 million lb in May. All pipe and tube products imports totaled 16.046 million lb. Imports of all profiles, rods and bars totaled 9.164 million lb. Copper alloy wire imports totaled 3.234 million lb.

May ’16 Exports

In accordance with the data released by the CBFC, the US exports of brass mill products totaled 20.410 million lb in May this year, marginally higher by 0.2% from the exports of 20.366 million lb during May 2015.

The key export destination for US brass mill products during May ’16 was Mexico. The exports to Mexico totaled 8.270 million lb. The other key importers of US brass mill products during the month were Canada (5.373 million lb), China (1.058 million lb), Germany (617,482 lb) and Saudi Arabia (559,541 lb).

Exports by Product Type

Exports of all sheet, strip, plate and foil products totaled 8.045 million lb in May 2016. All pipe and tube products exports totaled 4.057 million lb. Exports of all profiles, rods and bars totaled 6.121 million lb. Copper alloy wire exports totaled 2.187 million lb.

Year-to-date Imports/Exports

For the first five months of the year, US imported 190.352 million lb of brass mill products. This is 12.4% lower when compared with the imports of 217.226 million lb in the same year-ago period. Exports during the initial five months of 2016 totaled 147.674 million lb, compared with 107.149 million lb in the same 2015 period, an increase of 37.8%.

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 in subsequent reports.

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

The details of exports of brass mill products during January to May 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.