US imports of unwrought aluminum slid 17% year over year to 261,953 mt in June, marking the largest monthly year-over-year drop in 2020, according to data released Aug. 10 by the US International Trade Commission and earlier from the US Bureau of the Census.
June's drop in unwrought aluminum imports under HTS code 7601 is the steepest since an 8.84% year-over-year fall in February. The fall in imports follows rising imports in April and May.
Import numbers from most countries were down in June, with the most significant year-over-year declines reported for shipments from Australia (down 91% to 10,856 mt), United Arab Emirates (81% to 6,274 mt), Russia (78% to 5,170 mt), Bahrain (75% to 2,788 mt) and Qatar (65% to 4,222 mt).
US imports of primary aluminum from Canada in June under HTS code 7601 rose 27% to 224,199 mt compared with June 2019 imports. However, June imports were down from 230,248 mt in May.
US domestic exports of primary aluminum, including only primary metals produced or significantly changed in the country, totaled 20,707 mt in June, down from 23,250 mt in the year-ago period but up from 10,666 mt in May.
The leading destinations for US aluminum exports were Canada (9,660 mt), Mexico (9,289 mt) and Taiwan (313 mt).
June aluminum plate, sheet, strip imports plunge 37%
US June imports of aluminum plate, sheet and strip under HTS code 7606 fell 37% year over year to 69,955 mt, according to the ITC data.
The leading sources of US aluminum imports for the month under HTS code 7606 were China (9,586 mt), Canada (9,490 mt) and Oman (6,261 mt).
US exports of aluminum plate, sheet and strip in June fell to 35,028 mt from 48,359 mt in the same month last year.
The largest amounts of US aluminum exports in the HTS category were shipped to Canada (14,894 mt), Mexico (12,696 mt) and China (1,743 mt).
UBC scrap imports continue to rise
ITC data showed that imports of aluminum used beverage can scrap into the US rose for the fifth straight month in June as domestic supply remained tight.
June UBC imports reached 16,922 mt, representing the highest monthly total year-to-date in 2020. Imports in the month were up 3.9% from May and 52.4% from June 2019.
Among total UBC shipments into the US, import quantities totaled 6,614 mt from Canada, 4,745 mt from Mexico and 4,030 mt from Brazil.
