With many global economies still suffering from an unusually long and harsh summer slowdown, import hot dipped galvanized (HDG) offer prices to the US are still slipping. Offer prices from India and China especially have fallen the most in the last few weeks, and continue to drop. CFR offer prices on HDG 0.012"x40.875" G30 and 0.019" x 48" G90 from India and China to the US have fallen about $10/mt over the past week, and traders tell SteelOrbis that some offers are even lower. While those offers haven't translated into lower sales prices in the US just yet, trader sources indicate that it's only a matter of time before they do.
Even as current import offer prices are well below US domestic spot prices--by as much as $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt) in some cases--it hasn't been enough to lure many potential buyers to make an offshore purchase. Trader sources have indicated that when it comes to enticing customers to book futures, price isn't an obstacle, but buyer caution regarding what US spot prices will be once imports arrive in December remains the biggest hurdle.
| Cwt. | Metric ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| Import HDG offers to the US | ||||
| 0.012"x40.875" G30 | ||||
| India* | $41.50-$42.50 | $915-$937 | $830-$850 | neutral |
| China* | $40-$41 | $882-$904 | $800-$820 | neutral |
| Mexico** | $42-$43 | $926-$948 | $840-$860 | neutral |
| 0.019" x 48" G90 | ||||
| China* | $43-$44 | $948-$970 | $860-$880 | neutral |
| India* | $43.50-$44.50 | $959-$981 | $870-$890 | neutral |
| Import Galvalume offers to the US | ||||
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| Taiwan* | $45-$46 | $992-$1,014 | $900-$920 | neutral |
| Mexico** | $44-$46 | $970-$1,014 | $880-$920 | neutral |
| China* | $46-$47 | $1,014-$1,036 | $920-$940 | neutral |
**DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston