US HDG buyers anxiously await final determinations in HDG trade case

The final determinations in the US import hot dipped galvanized trade case are scheduled to be announced in the next several days, and while the preliminary margins against China, which were at more than 255 percent, are expected to remain high, the final margins against India, Italy, South Korea have yet to be known.
Preliminary margins against Italian, South Korean and Indian mills were all set at less than seven percent. 

The US import HDG market has been dominated by Brazilian imports since the trade case was announced in June 2015; current data from the US Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance shows that for the month of March, US import HDG tonnages from Brazil were recorded at 36,879 mt (census data); in comparison, US import tonnages during that same period from Italian, Indian and Korean mills were recorded at 65.3 mt, 13,481 mt and 19,571 mt, respectively.

US import tons from Italian, Indian and Korean mills in June 2015 were recorded at 11,170 mt, 37,384 mt and 20,082 mt, respectively.

Year-on-year import tons are also down substantially.  In March 2016, global US import tons of HDG sheet and strip were recorded at 211,497 mt (census data), whereas March 2015 levels were recorded at 331,569 mt.

Current US import HDG offers from one Indian steelmaker are being heard in the approximate range of $775-$780/mt CFR, but sources close to SteelOrbis have said that this price point, which has declined by $5-$10/mt CFR in the past week, have failed to garner interest.