Price increase announcements in the US domestic hot dipped galvanized (HDG) and Galvalume coil market have reignited US buyers' interest in the import market, which was particularly quiet in October. Notable import offer prices to the US have been declining rapidly over the last few weeks largely because of softening global raw material prices, and weakening flat-rolled steel demand in countries such as China and India.
A few offer prices have continued to ease lower in the last week into levels that have become more attractive to US buyers. Traders tell SteelOrbis that inquiries have registered a noticeable uptick as import offer prices for some products such as HDG 0.012"x40.875" G30 from India, China and Mexico are now $2.00-$3.00 cwt. ($44-$66/mt or $40-$60/nt) below US domestic spot prices. As such, a few import orders were placed in the last week, and considering the widespread belief that US HDG and Galvalume prices have bottomed out, at least for the time being, import activity is likely to continue to rise slowly for at least the next couple weeks.
| Import HDG offers to the US | Cwt. | Metric ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week |
| 0.012"x40.875" G30 | ||||
| India* | $47-$48 | $1,036-$1,058 | $940-$960 | neutral |
| China* | $46.50-$47.50 | $1,025-$1,047 | $930-$950 | neutral |
| Mexico** | $45-$47 | $992-$1,036 | $900-$940 | ↓$1.00 cwt. on low end |
| 0.019" x 48" G90 | ||||
| China* | $47.50-$48.50 | $1,047-$1,069 | $950-$970 | neutral |
| India* | $48-$49 | $1,058-$1,080 | $960-$980 | ↓$1.00 cwt. on high end |
| Taiwan* | $49-$50 | $1,080-$1,102 | $980-$1,000 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| Import Galvalume offers to the US | ||||
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| Taiwan* | $48.50-$49.50 | $1,069-$1,091 | $970-$990 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| Mexico** | $47-$49 | $1,036-$1,080 | $940-$980 | ↓$1.00 cwt. on low end |
| China* | $48-$49 | $1,058-$1,080 | $960-$980 | neutral |
**DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston