After shrinking in February, imports and exports of iron and steel fasteners jumped in March as Asian imports rebounded, according to figures from Zepol Corp., a firm that monitors international trade. Imports of these fasteners into the U.S. jumped 54% to $516.45 million in March, while exports of these also grew, increasing 13% to $343.7 million.
The top five countries sending fasteners to the U.S. in March were Taiwan (up 75% month-to-month to $182.1 million); China (up 66.7% to $117.5 million); Japan (up 97.6% to $66.8 million); Germany (up 7.7% to $33.4 million); and Canada (up 13.4% to $28.7 million).
Both U.S. fastener exports and imports faltered in February, with exports dropping 2% to $303.3 million and imports falling 26% to $336.2 million.
In 2014, U.S. fastener exports rose 6.7% to $3.84 billion, while fastener imports grew 8.7% to $4.88 billion.