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.

                                       February 2001         February 2000
                                       Cumulative To         Cumulative To
                                       Date - Final          Date - Final
     Commodity                                           
     Grouping                       Quantity     Value    Quantity     Value
                                              
Total Selected Commodities           475,342    341,048    639,949    367,405

Ingots And Steel For Castings          3,746      2,026      4,727      2,606
Blooms, Billets And Slabs             60,221     15,004    131,358     32,347
Structural Shapes Heavy               18,759      6,811     12,084      4,693
Plates Cut Lengths                    28,847     20,583     36,224     21,307
Plates In Coils                       11,321      4,625     21,747      8,916
Rails Standard                         1,125        441      1,584        443
Bars - Hot Rolled                     91,096     49,390    111,919     54,856
Bars - Light Shaped                    1,751        667      5,415      1,865
Bars - Cold Finished                  10,896     11,221      9,220      7,950
Tool Steel                            26,768     39,073     25,740     35,593
Standard Pipe                          1,990      2,879      2,883      4,704
Oil Country Goods                     40,945     48,809     19,594     16,493
Line Pipe >16 Inches In Diameter       4,040      2,288     12,363      7,700
Line Pipe <=16 Inches In Diameter      1,969      1,429        179        261
Line Pipe - Not Specified                (-)        (-)         75         57
Mechanical Tubing                     22,735     27,758     14,435     21,982
Pressure Tubing                        4,270      5,700      5,010      6,494
Pipe & Tubing Nonclassified              198        915      1,786      2,278
Structural Pipe & Tube                 1,039      1,527        915      1,349
Pipe For Piling                           59         31     13,868      9,892
Wire Drawn                            13,204     14,082     12,000     13,467
Sheets Hot Rolled                     11,225      6,146     16,252      8,130
Sheets Cold Rolled                    50,281     27,153     81,955     37,234
Sheets & Strip Galv Hot Dipped        36,592     20,085     65,808     35,544
Sheets & Strip Galv Electrolyt         7,337      4,685     10,976      6,345
Sheets & Strip - Electrical           19,417     14,143     16,633     11,430
Strip - Hot Rolled                       540        314      1,054        749
Strip - Cold Rolled                    4,969     13,262      4,145     12,716

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."