Overseas
April 7, 2022
Foreign vs. Domestic Hot Rolled Steel Prices: Foreign Prices Level Out
Written by Brett Linton
Foreign import prices are slowly gaining back their competitive advantage over domestic steel, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. Select foreign HRC prices range between $327 per ton cheaper than domestic prices to $46 per ton more expensive, after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration. Recall that the price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had shrunk since peaking last summer, with domestic prices briefly holding a competitive edge 3-6 weeks ago.
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to US 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 US hot rolled weekly index to the CRU hot rolled weekly indices for Germany, Italy and Far East Asian ports.
