Cold-rolled imports still significantly cheaper than domestic product

Foreign cold-rolled coil (CR) remains much less expensive than domestic product even as prices in the US have declined at a rapid pace over the past month, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.

All told, US CR prices are now 24.5% more expensive than imports. The premium is up marginally from 24.1% last week but down from a high of 31.5% in early January. And while imported cold-rolled coil has become less attractive over the past month due to sharp price cuts in the US, offshore CR is still a great value given the wide spread.

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.