Posted on 21 Apr 2025
Chinese wide-width hot rolled coil may be shut out from Vietnam within months if Vietnamese producers get their way, Kallanish notes.
Chinese-origin HRC imports were slapped with preliminary anti-dumping duties of 19.38-27.83% in Vietnam last month. But Chinese exporters switched to trading of 1.9-2m width Chinese HRC last year in order to circumvent the current AD action, which targets HRC of up to 1.88m width.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry & Trade has been approached to widen the AD case to include wide-width HRC from China, a Hanoi industry source says. However, the extension of the current trade action may only happen in July as the current temporary duty which took effect 8 March was decreed for 120 days, traders say.
Vietnam’s producers want to secure the downstream market such as pipe and construction/cutting/slitting distributors, a Hanoi trader says. These end-users consume around 4-5 million tonnes/year and are the ones using the 2m HRC from China, he adds.
Certain Chinese traders tell Kallanish they are already taking heed of the possible imminent trade action against wide-width Chinese HRC and have suspended this business with Vietnam.
As HRC demand is weak in Vietnam, producers have faced some resistance in their monthly domestic price hikes. FHS is heard to have sold out its allocations after acceding to a $7-8/tonne discount for bulk orders of at least 15,000-20,000 tonnes for HRC for June shipments. The mill had originally announced prices at the equivalent of $525-535/t cfr Vietnam, depending on tonnage (see Kallanish passim). Traders estimate FHS sold around 200,000-250,000t and Hoa Phat about 450,000t for this month.
Meanwhile, following China’s exit, Japanese HRC continues to be the most competitive import source. An offer was tabled for 2mm thickness base SAE 1006 HRC for June shipment at around $510/t cfr Vietnam. “I think that buyers will accept a price of $500-505/t cfr,” another trader says. Last month, Japanese HRC was booked at $505-510/t cfr Vietnam.
Indonesia-based Dexin Steel’s 3mm base SAE1006/SS400 HRC is currently offered at $498/t fob for the Vietnamese market, $5/t lower on-week. There is a $10/t extra for 2mm thickness material. Offers are heard at $515/t cfr. This price level is too high for the Vietnamese market.
Kallanish assessed SAE grade 2-2.7mm thickness HRC at $505-510/t cfr Vietnam, down $5 on-week.
Source:Kallanish
