US long products imports rebound
US long products imports rose in January for the first time since June 2007, based on SIMA US import licenses. As you can see in the spreadsheet below, an increase in rebar and beam import licenses is driving the rebound. Rebar licenses almost tripled in Jan 08 compared to the Dec 07, but are still lower than average 2007 monthly actuals. Beam licenses, on the other hand, have reached their highest levels since December 2006, and February beam imports already look like they will be high based on licenses collected up to February 12th.
