Foreign vs. Domestic HR Price Comparison: Imports' Advantage Narrows

Foreign steel imports from two of the three regions tracked by Steel Market Update are losing their price advantage over domestic steel, according to our latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. The price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had surged through February and March to reach record highs in favor of foreign producers. Those spreads have since narrowed for imported German and Italian HRC, while Far East Asian HRC prices remain significantly lower than domestic prices after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration.

The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). This is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margins and other costs can fluctuate, ultimately influencing the true market spread. This compares the SMU U.S. hot rolled weekly index to CRU hot rolled weekly indices for Germany, Italy and Far East Asian ports.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a digital operations analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.