Steel Coil and Plate Sourcing as EU Q4 Quotas Tighten

Europe’s fourth-quarter import window shut almost as fast as it opened. According to S&P Global Platts data published by EUROMETAL on 7 October, several EU safeguard quotas were exhausted on 6 October, only days into the Q4 allocation period. Turkey’s country-specific hot rolled coil (HRC) quota of 160,573 mt was used up on 1 October; plate allocations for “Other Countries” (18,830 mt) and India (52,710 mt) were depleted; and the 45,749 mt China allocation under hot-dip galvanised category 4B was fully drawn.

The practical result is a standstill in import bookings. Import HRC offers were reported at €635–670/mt CFR on 9 October, while buyers’ expectations sat closer to €600–620/mt CFR, with “little fresh business reported” (EUROMETAL/SteelOrbis, 9 October). Traders await confirmation of free trade agreement quota allocations, expected around 13 October, before committing tonnage.

Domestic prices marked time. Northern European hot rolled coil was reported at €740–760/mt ex-works, with Italian and Spanish workable levels at €740–750/mt and €740–745/mt ex-works, unchanged week on week. Fastmarkets assessed 8–40 mm domestic plate at €840–880/mt ex-works in Northern Europe on 8 October, while Chinese slab offers into Italy firmed to $590–595/mt CFR from $580–590/mt a week earlier (EUROMETAL, 8–9 October).

Three pressures buyers should price in

Documentation. Since 1 October the EU’s “melt and pour” requirement applies to covered steel imports, and the Mill Test Certificate must state the country where the steel was melted and first cast together with the heat number; alternative documents stand alone only until 30 September 2027 (EUROMETAL/SteelRadar, 2 October).

Cost. Trasteel’s chief executive put the potential annual CBAM cost for steel products at up to €5 billion, while German water levels were still reported as critical for autumn (EUROMETAL, 9 October).

Supply. Only 6.9% of Chinese steelmakers were profitable by the end of September, and daily hot metal output fell to a six-month low of 2.34 million mt (Trading Economics, 8 October). Iron ore at 62% Fe CFR China fell 3.47% week on week and HRC FOB China slipped 0.79% (SteelOrbis, 9 October), with global crude steel output down 1.2% year on year at 144.2 million mt in August (worldsteel). Softer raw material prices may ease offers, but thinning mill profitability argues against a return of the most aggressive export pricing.

What to specify, product by product

Where quota headroom decides what lands, the specification is the negotiation.

Hot rolled coil (HRC) for structures, pipe and general fabrication: Q235B, Q345B, SS400 and S235JR/S355JR, commonly supplied from about 1.5 mm to 25 mm and widths up to 2,000 mm, mill or trimmed edge, pickled and oiled on request. See the hot rolled steel sheet & coil range.

Cold rolled steel coil for appliances, refrigeration, switchgear and steel furniture: DC01 to DC04 to EN 10130, or SPCC to JIS G3141, typically 0.3–3.0 mm, bright and uniform for painting and profiling. See the cold rolled range and the cold rolled steel coil product page.

Galvanized and prepainted steel coil for roofing, cold-formed sections and anti-theft doors: DX51D+Z, coatings commonly Z100–Z275 g/m², plus colour-coated material to customer RAL requirements — galvanized, galvanized steel coil and prepainted steel coil.

Medium and heavy steel plate for steel structures, bridges, port and mining equipment: S355JR/S355J2 and Q345B in the 8–200 mm band, subject to mill availability; NM360 to NM600 wear grades are commonly supplied for abrasion duty. See medium and heavy steel plate.

Steel plate cutting parts move the cutting stage to the supplier: flame, plasma and laser cut parts to drawing for switchgear cabinets, steel structures and jack-up sections. See steel plate cutting parts.

CRGO electrical steel deserves separate attention. The European Commission imposed provisional safeguard measures on grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES), laminations and cores from 25 September 2026 to 26 February 2027, allocating China a GOES quota of 30,693.68 mt, with in-quota thresholds of €2,800–3,400/mt and €3,500/mt out of quota (SteelOrbis, 21 September). Transformer builders sourcing electrical steel should confirm origin, grade — commonly 23Q, 27Q and 30Q series — and coating type before quoting.

Our reading of the quarter

Nanjing Tiange Metal Trading Co., Ltd. is a China steel supplier acting as a steel coil supplier and steel plate supplier, sourcing from mills including Baosteel, Ansteel and Wuhan Steel for steel structure, switchgear, power transmission, automotive and appliance manufacturers in Europe and North America. Three habits matter now.

Treat traceability as an ordering requirement, not paperwork. A Mill Test Certificate without the melt-and-pour country and heat number can stall a customs declaration, and from October 2027 alternative documents will not stand alone.

Confirm quota balance before committing tonnage. Turkey’s HRC allocation disappeared on day one; where a country-specific balance is tight, a different origin or a near-equivalent specification may be the difference between arrival and storage cost.

Build in flexibility on grade, gauge and width. Mills running lean order books reward buyers who can accept an adjacent grade or a slightly different width.

Tell us your Q4 and Q1 requirement — specification, tonnage and destination port — and we will say plainly what is available and from which mill, subject to mill availability. Reach us through contact us, or review the full product list, our company profile and the news archive.

News

Steel Coil and Plate Sourcing as EU Q4 Quotas Tighten

Three pressures buyers should price in

What to specify, product by product

Our reading of the quarter

Sources