Regional Imports Through July: Other Metallic Coated

In July, OMC imports were down by 1.3 percent at the national level, but on a regional basis ranged from a 43 percent decline in the South Atlantic ports to an increase of 51 percent in the Great Lakes region. The Gulf has received by far the most tonnage in 2020 and accounts for 46 percent of the national total. Tonnage into the Atlantic North and Atlantic South and the Pacific North and Pacific South each accounted for less than 10 percent of the total.

Note the tonnage scales on the Y axis of Figures 4-7 are not the same.

Pacific Coast: The OMC tonnage into both Pacific regions has been fairly consistent since the beginning of 2019 with the South having about twice the tonnage of the North.

Atlantic Coast: The OMC tonnage into both Atlantic regions declined in 2019, but has increased in 2020, though the whole Eastern Seaboard is only 14 percent of the national total. About 65 percent of the East Coast tonnage enters through Philadelphia.   

Gulf and Great Lakes: OMC tonnage into the Great Lakes ports has been steadily increasing since February 2018 and was up by 51 percent in 2020 through July. The Gulf receives the most tonnage of the seven regions and in 2020 year to date has accounted for 46 percent of the total. The Gulf tonnage has been increasing since December last year.  

Rio Grande: The river crossings only account for 10 percent of the national total and in 2020 year to date were down by 17 percent. Almost all of this tonnage comes in through Laredo and has steadily declined since May last year.

Notes: SMU presents a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to a detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. The report you are reading now is designed to plug the gap between these two. This report breaks total year to date import tonnage of six flat rolled products into seven regions and the growth/contraction for each product and region. There is a summary table for each product group and a bar chart showing volume by region for the first seven months of 2020. These are reference documents with no specific comments. These charts have been developed as a guide for buyers and sellers to have a broader understanding of what’s going on in their own backyard.

Regions are compiled from the following districts:

Atlantic North: Baltimore, Boston, New York, Ogdensburg, Philadelphia, Portland ME, St. Albans and Washington. DC.

Atlantic South: Charleston, Charlotte, Miami, Norfolk and Savannah.

Great Lakes: Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Duluth, Great Falls, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Pembina.

Gulf: Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, San Juan, St. Louis and Tampa.

Pacific North: Anchorage, Columbia Snake, San Francisco and Seattle.

Pacific South: Los Angeles and San Diego.

Rio Grande Valley: Laredo and El Paso.