Domestic HRC’s Competitive Advantage Slipping Away

Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) lost its competitive price advantage over imported steel, ending a 16-week run. The turn came as domestic mills continue to drive prices up at a faster clip than mills overseas, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis.

US HRC is approximately 3% more expensive than foreign prices this week, a reversal from last week when domestic HRC was roughly 2.2% cheaper than imports, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins, and any applicable tariffs. US prices had been cheaper than foreign prices for all three regions we follow since the beginning of November. That shifted when US hot band prices surged by a $50-per-ton average week on week (WoW), even while HRC prices were up across all regions over the same period.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.