Not Seasonally Adjusted

      Exhibit 2a.  U.S. Imports For Consumption of Alloy Steel Products:
                                (Census Basis)

             Quantity in metric tons/value In thousands of dollars.
                  Details may not equal totals due to rounding.

                                       January 2001           January 2000
                                       Cumulative To          Cumulative To
                                       Date - Final           Date - Final
     Commodity                                            
     Grouping                        Quantity     Value     Quantity     Value
                                               
Total Selected Commodities            237,132    174,132     300,223    176,945

Ingots And Steel For Castings           1,883      1,174       2,065      1,186
Blooms, Billets And Slabs              20,809      5,793      54,904     13,330
Structural Shapes Heavy                 9,346      3,162       8,390      3,404
Plates Cut Lengths                     20,782     14,674      20,366     11,763
Plates In Coils                         6,633      2,631      12,652      4,992
Rails Standard                            368         91       1,249        261
Bars - Hot Rolled                      44,679     23,846      57,312     29,039
Bars - Light Shaped                       900        314       2,585        904
Bars - Cold Finished                    5,747      5,899       4,101      3,591
Tool Steel                             13,979     20,526      14,958     19,422
Standard Pipe                           1,295      1,822       1,884      2,879
Oil Country Goods                      20,855     25,590       5,877      5,782
Line Pipe >16 Inches In Diameter        2,412      1,367       1,767      1,611
Line Pipe <=16 Inches In Diameter       1,895      1,354          11         28
Line Pipe - Not Specified                 (-)         (-)         65         34
Mechanical Tubing                       9,842     12,467       7,800     12,389
Pressure Tubing                         2,550      3,442       2,406      2,878
Pipe & Tubing Nonclassified                90        423         971      1,248
Structural Pipe & Tube                    363        668         343        479
Pipe For Piling                            59         31         180         92
Wire Drawn                              6,961      7,368       6,419      7,328
Sheets Hot Rolled                       5,805      3,250       7,197      3,600
Sheets Cold Rolled                     26,797     13,309      37,782     17,758
Sheets & Strip Galv Hot Dipped         15,468      8,609      32,230     17,167
Sheets & Strip Galv Electrolyt          3,728      2,409       6,033      3,449
Sheets & Strip - Electrical            11,446      8,299       8,037      5,323
Strip - Hot Rolled                        231        122         527        320
Strip - Cold Rolled                     2,208      5,492       2,110      6,689

CONTACT: For more information, contact Haydn R. Mearkle (301-457-2246) or Nick
         Orsini (301-457-2311), Foreign Trade Division, U.S. Census Bureau.

NOTE:  For information on more detailed data available, please see record 
       titled "MORE DETAILED FOREIGN TRADE DATA AVAILABLE."