Foreign vs. Domestic Hot Rolled Steel Price Comparison

SMU includes a 25 percent import tariff effective on foreign prices after March 23, 2018. We then add $90 per ton to the foreign prices in consideration of freight costs, handling, trader margin, etc., to provide an approximate “CIF U.S. ports price” that can be compared against the SMU U.S. hot rolled price. Note that we do not include any antidumping (AD) or countervailing duties (CVD) in this analysis.

German HRC

As of Wednesday, April 1, the CRU German HRC price was $473 per net ton, up $11 over the previous week, but down $11 from two weeks prior. Adding tariffs and import costs, that puts the German price at $681 per ton delivered to the U.S. The latest SMU hot rolled price average is $540 per ton, down $20 per ton over last week and down $25 over two weeks prior. Therefore, domestically sourced HRC is theoretically $141 per ton cheaper than imported German HRC; the spread was $108 last week and $130 two weeks ago. U.S. prices have held this price advantage for almost 16 consecutive months.

Italian HRC

CRU published Italian HRC prices at $444 per net ton, up $13 from last week, but down $10 over two weeks ago. After adding tariffs and import costs, the delivered price of Italian HRC is approximately $645 per ton. Therefore, domestic HRC is theoretically $105 per ton cheaper than imported Italian HRC; the spread was $69 the previous week and $93 two weeks prior. U.S. prices have consecutively held this price advantage for one year.

Far East Asian HRC

The CRU Far East Asian HRC price fell $27 over last week to $372 per net ton, down $40 from two weeks prior. Adding tariffs and import costs, the delivered price of Far East Asian HRC to the U.S. is $555 per ton. Therefore, U.S.-produced HRC is theoretically $15 per ton cheaper than imported Far East Asian HRC; the spread was $29 last week and $40 two weeks ago. Domestic prices have held this price advantage for 14 consecutive months.

The graph below compares all four price indices and highlights the effective date of the tariffs. Foreign prices are referred to as “equalized,” meaning they have been adjusted to include tariffs and importing costs for a like-for-like comparison against the U.S. price.

Note: Freight is an important part of the final determination on whether to import foreign steel or buy from a domestic mill supplier. Domestic prices are referenced as FOB the producing mill, while foreign prices are FOB the Port (Houston, NOLA, Savannah, Los Angeles, Camden, etc.). Inland freight, from either a domestic mill or from the port, can dramatically impact the competitiveness of both domestic and foreign steel. When considering lead times, a buyer must take into consideration the momentum of pricing both domestically and in the world markets. In most circumstances (but not all), domestic steel will deliver faster than foreign steel ordered on the same day.