4/27/2015 1:57:00 PM
HEADLINES
Asian Fastener Imports Falter in February
U.S. fastener exports and imports declined in February, with imports taking the biggest hit as Asian imports faltered.
U.S. fastener exports of iron and steel fasteners (HTS Code: 7318) dropped 2% in February to $303.3 million, according to Zepol data analyzed by GlobalFastenerNews.com.
The top five consumers of U.S. fastener exports in February were Mexico (down 1% month-to-month to $105.3 million); Canada (down 4.2% to $81.3 million); the UK (down 1% to $13.3 million); China (down 12.3% to $10.7 million); and Germany (down 10.2% to $9.7 million).
Imports were more severely affected in February, with U.S. fastener imports of iron and steel fasteners (HTS Code: 7318) falling 26% to $336.2 million, Zepol reports.
The top five countries importing fasteners to the U.S. during February were Taiwan (down 20.3% to $104.1 million); China (down 35.2% to $70.5 million); Japan (up 42.2% to $33.8 million); Germany (up 13.1% at $31 million); and Canada at $25.2 million.
Both U.S. fastener exports and imports increased in January, with imports gaining 13% to $452.9 million and exports increasing 6% to $310.8 million.
In 2014, U.S. fastener exports rose 6.7% to $3.84 billion, while fastener imports grew 8.7% to $4.88 billion.
This data was derived from Zepol’s trade intelligence tool, TradeView, using U.S. import and export trade data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in the Merchandise Trade dataset.
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