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.


                                       April 2001              April 2000
                                       Cumulative To           Cumulative To
                                       Date - Final            Date - Final
     Commodity                                           
     Grouping                       Quantity     Value      Quantity     Value
                                             
Total Selected Commodities          285,509     569,125     391,560     756,834

Ingots And Steel For Castings         6,499       8,457       2,903       3,949
Blooms, Billets And Slabs            82,352      93,079      98,913     130,719
Wire Rods                            19,520      36,553      26,534      44,711
Structural Shapes Heavy                 771       2,345       3,629       7,597
Plates Cut Lengths                    9,590      19,568      16,874      32,333
Plates In Coils                       4,607       6,955      16,427      24,037
Bars - Hot Rolled                     9,154      20,908      10,132      23,246
Bars - Light Shaped                   2,928       6,489       3,917       7,497
Bars - Cold Finished                 29,007      74,819      31,056      70,190
Stainless Pipe & Tubing              25,769     102,902      30,377     104,422
Wire Drawn                            9,881      36,364       8,982      32,099
Sheets Hot Rolled                     4,597       6,257      11,573      16,575
Sheets Cold Rolled                   71,468     121,838     116,918     216,982
Strip - Hot Rolled                      382         707       1,137       1,984
Strip - Cold Rolled                   8,984      31,884      12,189      40,492

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."