Indian HDG producers are having a hard time in Europe since their Chinese competitors are offering the same material to Europe at lower price levels. For instance, Chinese offers to Europe for 0.6 mm 120 gr/m² zinc coated materials are currently at €80/mt lower compared to the Indian prices. It is mentioned that a Europe-based international trading firm has concluded a deal for over 30,000 mt of HDG from China at the price levels of €460-480/mt CFR southern Europe. It is also heard that attempts have been made to sell Chinese origin 0.5 mm 120gr/m² zinc coated material at around €500/mt ex-stock.
It is observed that demand (mainly from the automotive sector) for cold rolled products and HDG in Europe is showing signs of improvement. According to ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers' Association) estimates, the European market posted growth over the summer, with 2.8 percent and 3.0 percent more cars registered in July and August respectively year on year, derived from starkly varying results in individual countries. The increase trend, which commenced in June after fourteen months of a downturn, mainly reflects the impact of incentive schemes in a number of markets across the EU. In the January-August period this year, registrations reached 9,565,517 units, still 8.2 percent lower than in the same period last year.
However, no positive impact on prices has been observed from the HDG demand revival in Europe due to the competitive prices from Chinese. On the contrary, some improvements in cold rolled and HDG prices which were lately observed in the local European markets have now been replaced by a slackening tendency again.