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.

                                       May 2001                May 2000
                                     Cumulative To           Cumulative To
                                     Date - Final            Date - Final
     Commodity                                           
     Grouping                      Quantity     Value      Quantity     Value
                                             
Total Selected Commodities        1,348,991     924,448   1,772,280   1,050,193

Ingots And Steel For Castings         8,750       5,214      17,177       8,835
Blooms, Billets And Slabs           161,628      45,872     313,283      82,997
Structural Shapes Heavy              61,817      20,955      50,280      18,216
Plates Cut Lengths                   75,266      53,780      94,502      57,503
Plates In Coils                      36,225      13,024      52,999      22,439
Rails Standard                        1,449         634       3,539       1,104
Bars - Hot Rolled                   272,391     144,935     303,778     149,712
Bars - Light Shaped                   4,735       2,000      14,392       5,092
Bars - Cold Finished                 29,365      30,990      28,191      25,637
Tool Steel                           68,192      96,008      68,428      93,127
Standard Pipe                         6,340       9,154       8,897      12,172
Oil Country Goods                   122,041     132,569      61,643      57,519
Line Pipe>16 Inches In Diameter      17,669       8,966     128,425      81,784
Line Pipe<=16 Inches In Diameter      2,753       2,422       1,781       1,888
Line Pipe - Not Specified               (-)         (-)         114          77
Mechanical Tubing                    61,251      74,439      38,896      56,089
Pressure Tubing                      10,986      14,100      11,613      15,698
Pipe & Tubing Nonclassified             703       2,458       2,541       4,578
Structural Pipe & Tube                4,801       4,645       2,078       3,929
Pipe For Piling                         310         105      18,596      12,936
Wire Drawn                           32,174      34,697      35,230      38,143
Sheets Hot Rolled                    34,175      17,736      41,102      20,788
Sheets Cold Rolled                  134,284      66,852     180,260      85,153
Sheets & Strip Galv Hot Dipped      122,644      65,113     197,011     107,492
Sheets & Strip Galv Electrolyt       16,314      10,599      38,874      21,637
Sheets & Strip - Electrical          47,854      32,798      44,032      31,016
Strip - Hot Rolled                    2,243       1,518       2,470       1,665
Strip - Cold Rolled                  12,631      32,867      12,149      32,970

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."