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.
 
 
                                        July 2002               July 2001
                                        Cumulative To           Cumulative To
                                        Date - Final            Date - Final
    Commodity
    Grouping                          Quantity     Value      Quantity     Value
 
Total Selected Commodities            523,616     901,966     509,098     996,047
 
Ingots And Steel For Castings          17,645      20,090      14,773      18,450
Blooms, Billets And Slabs             169,555     188,329     154,408     171,081
Wire Rods                              29,879      48,068      32,289      59,559
Structural Shapes Heavy                 1,070       3,228       1,386       4,060
Plates Cut Lengths                     20,218      33,795      17,836      33,113
Plates In Coils                        12,910      15,494       7,784      11,698
Bars - Hot Rolled                      10,757      22,751      16,233      35,609
Bars - Light Shaped                     5,332      11,684       5,054      11,506
Bars - Cold Finished                   35,998      83,561      50,070     129,093
Stainless Pipe & Tubing                44,551     162,720      48,253     193,936
Wire Drawn                             16,725      52,609      17,541      62,552
Sheets Hot Rolled                       9,682       8,936       7,106      10,342
Sheets Cold Rolled                    130,561     193,742     120,613     198,919
Strip - Hot Rolled                        207         405         489         943
Strip - Cold Rolled                    18,527      56,554      15,261      55,186
 
CONTACT: For more information, contact Haydn R. Mearkle (301-763-2246) or Nick
         Orsini (301-763-2311), 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."