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.
 
                                      February 2002           February 2001
                                      Cumulative To           Cumulative To
                                      Date - Final            Date - Final
     Commodity
     Grouping                       Quantity     Value      Quantity     Value
 
Total Selected Commodities          159,537     267,575     140,915     285,573
 
Ingots And Steel For Castings         5,104       5,961       2,627       3,657
Blooms, Billets And Slabs            50,048      52,531      39,950      45,748
Wire Rods                            13,241      20,937      10,433      19,721
Structural Shapes Heavy                 411       1,152         467       1,473
Plates Cut Lengths                    5,233       8,428       3,775       7,991
Plates In Coils                       5,625       6,517       2,435       3,676
Bars - Hot Rolled                     4,972      10,078       4,362       9,692
Bars - Light Shaped                   1,888       4,450       1,393       2,975
Bars - Cold Finished                 11,870      27,868      13,643      35,679
Stainless Pipe & Tubing              11,753      43,815      12,844      51,677
Wire Drawn                            5,348      16,712       4,996      18,464
Sheets Hot Rolled                     3,528       3,442       2,178       2,885
Sheets Cold Rolled                   35,650      50,682      36,922      65,287
Strip - Hot Rolled                       89         232         144         321
Strip - Cold Rolled                   4,778      14,771       4,748      16,329
 
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."