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 2002              April 2001
                                      Cumulative To           Cumulative To
                                      Date - Final            Date - Final
     Commodity
     Grouping                      Quantity     Value      Quantity     Value
 
Total Selected Commodities          319,444     533,129     285,509     569,125
 
Ingots And Steel For Castings        10,207      11,758       6,499       8,457
Blooms, Billets And Slabs           113,526     122,298      82,352      93,079
Wire Rods                            20,364      33,038      19,520      36,553
Structural Shapes Heavy                 653       1,892         771       2,345
Plates Cut Lengths                   11,066      18,493       9,590      19,568
Plates In Coils                       8,844      10,018       4,607       6,955
Bars - Hot Rolled                     7,125      14,942       9,154      20,908
Bars - Light Shaped                   2,833       6,559       2,928       6,489
Bars - Cold Finished                 20,000      47,793      29,007      74,819
Stainless Pipe & Tubing              24,524      92,749      25,769     102,902
Wire Drawn                            9,490      30,151       9,881      36,364
Sheets Hot Rolled                     7,749       6,268       4,597       6,257
Sheets Cold Rolled                   72,733     104,477      71,468     121,838
Strip - Hot Rolled                      126         283         382         707
Strip - Cold Rolled                  10,204      32,410       8,984      31,884
 
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."