PRICING NOTICE: Adjustment of European HRC specifications to accommodate longer lead times

After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has adjusted the delivery time specifications for its European hot-rolled coil (HRC) indices to accommodate longer-than-usual lead times.

Originally, the methodologies for the Fastmarkets steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, and steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, stated that only prices for material delivered within six weeks would be considered.

Longer lead time had been seen in the market when the consultation was initiated in early April 2021, and lead times are currently very much in excess of six weeks due to severe material shortages and strong demand and this situation is expected to persist until at least the end of 2021.

In Northern Europe and Italy, the earliest delivery time currently available for HRC is September, with some producers already claiming to be sold out until December.

Consequently, Fastmarkets has decided to retain the six-week delivery specification under normal circumstances, but will consider longer lead times when no material is available for delivery within six weeks. The changes to the specifications below will come into effect from Friday May 14. 

The adjusted specifications are as follows (amendments in italics):

MB-STE-0028 Steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Northern Europe, € per tonne
Quality: Grade s235jr, 1,200-1,300mm, thickness 3mm; standard extras for dimensions excluded
Quantity: Min 50 tonnes
Location: Ex-works Northern Europe (defined as Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium)
Timing: Up to 6 weeks (longer delivery times will be considered under unusual conditions when no material is available for delivery within 6 weeks)
Unit: € per tonne
Payment terms: Typical commercial practice in the HRC market. Transactions that are conducted on different payment or credit terms will be adjusted back to the base specifications, taking into account discounts and standard.
Publication: Daily, 4pm London time
Notes: Only material offered to/traded within Northern Europe, as defined above, will be considered.

MB-STE-0892: Steel hot-rolled coil index, domestic, exw Italy, € per tonne
Quality: Grade s235jr, width 1,250-1,500mm, thickness 3-4mm; standard extras for dimensions excluded
Quantity: Min 28 tonnes
Location: Ex-works Italian mills
Timing: Up to 6 weeks (longer delivery times will be considered under unusual conditions when no material is available for delivery within 6 weeks)
Unit: € per tonne
Payment terms: Typical commercial practice in the HRC market. Transactions that are conducted on different payment or credit terms will be adjusted back to the base specifications, taking into account discounts and standard.
Publication: Daily, 4pm London time
Notes: Only material offered to/traded within Italy will be considered.

To provide feedback on these indices, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter, please contact Maria Tanatar by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Maria Tanatar, re: European HRC indices.’

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to: https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.

What to read next
The decision follows a market consulation which took place from Tuesday June 23 and Monday July 20. No feedback was received. The assessments were first proposed in a pricing note published on June 23. The assessments, which will reflect prices of soybeans loaded from ports in the US Pacific Northwest into China, are aimed at […]
The cost of producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Europe reached sky-high levels at the end of the first half of the year, driven higher by tightening waste-based feedstock markets, volatile energy prices and growing doubts over Europe’s ability to meet its SAF ambitions, sources told Fastmarkets.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ manganese ore semi-carbonate index, 36.5% Mn, cif Tianjin; manganese ore semi carbonate index, 36.5% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth; and manganese ore high grade index, cif Tianjin, was delayed on Friday July 17 due to a delay in data processing.
The prices were published at 16:00 London time on July 16, although the next publication should not have been until 16:00 London time on July 17. The following prices were published incorrectly and have been removed: MB-AL-0404 Aluminium scrap, clean production extrusions (6063), differential to LME, delivered consumer Europe, € per tonne MB-AL-0405 Aluminium scrap, post-consumer 95/5 […]
Higher mandate targets alongside stricter feedstock requirements have hit EU biodiesel imports in recent years, while hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) imports are on the rise.
Fastmarkets has decided to launch a CIF Rotterdam aluminium billet premium calculated assessment.