US imports of high-carbon ferro-manganese experienced a precipitous rise in September, pacing a healthy month of bulk alloy imports, while ferro-vanadium imports slipped to year-to-date lows.
Bulk alloys US ferro-silicon imports spiked during the month of September, nearly erasing the lagging shipment rates seen throughout 2017. A flood of ferro-silicon imports from Russia served as the primary driver for the September surge. Russian shipments reached 14,153 tonnes, accounting for 73% of the monthly total, after that country sent only 270 tonnes in August. But those volumes were partially offset by a step back in imports of both Chinese and Brazilian material, which combined for just 737 tonnes during the month of September, down considerably from 5,458 tonnes in August. The limited September volumes of Chinese ferro-silicon bucked a three-month trend of elevated imports; inflows of the material totaled 12,716 tonnes from June-August, after a subdued first five months of 2017. Meanwhile, US imports of high-carbon ferro-manganese soared to their highest totals…
