• Skip to main content

    Overseas

    World Export vs. Domestic HRC Price Spread Down $10

    Written by John Packard


    In late May SteelBenchmarker reported their world export price for hot rolled steel at $501 per net ton ($552 per metric ton), unchanged from their price earlier in the month. With an estimated $70 per ton in freight, handling and trader margin added, that puts the world HRC price at approximately $571 per ton CIF USA Port. The latest Steel Market Update hot rolled price average is $675 per ton as of the end of the month but $10 per ton less than where we were during the middle of the month.

    The theoretical spread between the world export price and the SMU US HRC price is now $174 per ton ($104 with freight costs included), $10 per ton less than what we reported during the middle of May.

    Latest in Overseas

    Price on Trade: Steel’s zero-sum game

    During the first three quarters of 2026, finished steel imports from South Korea increased 50.8% compared with the same period in 2025. Imports from Vietnam increased 23.4%, imports from Turkey increased 49.5%, and imports from India increased 29.5%. Those are not marginal increases. They are substantial import surges, especially in a US market where apparent domestic consumption has bounced around but has not grown since 2017. More importantly, these import surges are arriving at lower average unit values (AUVs).