U.S. Copper Wire Imports

Copper wire imports into the United States reduced slightly to 26K tons in April 2023, falling by -2.6% on the month before. Over the period under review, total imports indicated measured growth from April 2022 to April 2023: its volume increased at an average monthly rate of +2.5% over the last twelve months. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period. Based on April 2023 figures, imports increased by +19.4% against February 2023 indices. The growth pace was the most rapid in October 2022 with an increase of 46% against the previous month.

In value terms, copper wire imports declined to $251M (IndexBox estimates) in April 2023. Overall, total imports indicated a modest expansion from April 2022 to April 2023: its value increased at an average monthly rate of +1.8% over the last twelve months. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period. Based on April 2023 figures, imports increased by +91.9% against September 2022 indices. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in October 2022 when imports increased by 40% m-o-m.

Imports by Country

In April 2023, Canada (17K tons) constituted the largest copper wire supplier to the United States, with a 66% share of total imports. Moreover, copper wire imports from Canada exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest supplier, Uzbekistan (2.1K tons), eightfold. The United Arab Emirates (1.8K tons) ranked third in terms of total imports with a 7% share.

From April 2022 to April 2023, the average monthly rate of growth in terms of volume from Canada was relatively modest. The remaining supplying countries recorded the following average monthly rates of imports growth: Uzbekistan (0.0% per month) and the United Arab Emirates (-2.4% per month).

In value terms, Canada ($163M) constituted the largest supplier of copper wire to the United States, comprising 65% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was held by Uzbekistan ($21M), with an 8.3% share of total imports. It was followed by the United Arab Emirates, with a 6.8% share.

From April 2022 to April 2023, the average monthly growth rate of value from Canada was relatively modest. The remaining supplying countries recorded the following average monthly rates of imports growth: Uzbekistan (0.0% per month) and the United Arab Emirates (+0.0% per month).

Imports by Type

In April 2023, copper; wire, of refined copper, of which the maximum cross-sectional dimension exceeds 6mm (22K tons) constituted the largest type of copper wire supplied to the United States, accounting for a 87% share of total imports. Moreover, copper; wire, of refined copper, of which the maximum cross-sectional dimension exceeds 6mm exceeded the figures recorded for the second-largest type, copper; wire, of refined copper, of which the maximum cross-sectional dimension is 6mm or less (2.1K tons), more than tenfold. The third position in this ranking was held by copper; wire, of copper-zinc base alloys (brass) (626 tons), with a 2.4% share.

From April 2022 to April 2023, the average monthly growth rate of the volume of import of copper; wire, of refined copper, of which the maximum cross-sectional dimension exceeds 6mm totaled +3.0%. With regard to the other supplied products, the following average monthly rates of growth were recorded: copper; wire, of refined copper, of which the maximum cross-sectional dimension is 6mm or less (+0.1% per month) and copper; wire, of copper-zinc base alloys (brass) (-2.0% per month).

In value terms, copper; wire, of refined copper, of which the maximum cross-sectional dimension exceeds 6mm ($213M) constituted the largest type of copper wire supplied to the United States, comprising 85% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was taken by copper; wire, of refined copper, of which the maximum cross-sectional dimension is 6mm or less ($22M), with an 8.9% share of total imports. It was followed by copper; wire, of copper alloys (other than copper-zinc base alloys, copper-nickel base alloys or copper-nickel-zinc base alloys), with a 2.9% share.

Import Prices by Country

In April 2023, the copper wire price amounted to $9,728 per ton, therefore (CIF, US), remained relatively stable against the previous month. Over the period under review, the import price showed a relatively flat trend pattern. The growth pace was the most rapid in December 2022 when the average import price increased by 5% against the previous month. The import price peaked at $10,679 per ton in May 2022; however, from June 2022 to April 2023, import prices stood at a somewhat lower figure.

Average prices varied noticeably amongst the major supplying countries. In April 2023, the countries with the highest prices were South Korea ($10,009 per ton) and Chile ($9,857 per ton), while the price for Mexico ($9,219 per ton) and the United Arab Emirates ($9,450 per ton) were amongst the lowest.

From April 2022 to April 2023, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by the United Arab Emirates (+2.5%), while the prices for the other major suppliers experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform