Not Seasonally Adjusted

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

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

                                       March 2001              March 2000
                                       Cumulative To           Cumulative To
                                       Date - Final            Date - Final
     Commodity                                           
     Grouping                      Quantity     Value      Quantity     Value
                                             
Total Selected Commodities          213,216     428,685     289,340     555,615

Ingots And Steel For Castings         4,379       5,936         187         369
Blooms, Billets And Slabs            61,743      69,982      73,099      94,716
Wire Rods                            15,173      28,729      18,722      33,110
Structural Shapes Heavy                 587       1,787       2,875       5,951
Plates Cut Lengths                    6,630      14,456      13,887      26,603
Plates In Coils                       3,203       4,981      12,226      17,889
Bars - Hot Rolled                     6,126      13,960       6,468      15,263
Bars - Light Shaped                   2,365       5,103       2,881       5,507
Bars - Cold Finished                 20,891      54,098      23,766      53,197
Stainless Pipe & Tubing              19,132      77,285      23,468      79,531
Wire Drawn                            7,429      27,375       6,878      24,331
Sheets Hot Rolled                     3,218       4,480       9,260      12,941
Sheets Cold Rolled                   55,065      95,450      85,275     154,253
Strip - Hot Rolled                      275         541         837       1,333
Strip - Cold Rolled                   7,000      24,523       9,511      30,620

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."