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TSM Hub → Steel → Pig Iron

Pig Iron

Pig Iron Steel Product page
Hot metal from the blast furnace — the BF-BOF feed and a globally traded EAF supplement competing directly with scrap.

Where to find live Pig Iron prices

Primary sources only

TSM does not display real-time Pig Iron quotes on this page — instead, we link directly to the regulated exchanges and benchmark price-reporting agencies (PRAs) that produce the actual numbers. One True Source for All: where the data originates, that is where you should read it.

Exchange access is free for delayed prices on most LME/SHFE/CME pages; live tick-by-tick data and PRA assessments are paid subscriptions sold by the exchange or by Fastmarkets / Argus / S&P Global Platts directly. See TSM Sources methodology for the full source tiering.

About Pig Iron

Editorial · sourced

What is pig iron?

Pig iron is crude iron tapped from a blast furnace, carrying typically 3.5-4.5% carbon, 0.5-2% silicon, 0.5-1% manganese and 0.05-0.1% sulphur/phosphorus. The term originally referred to ingots cast in side-channels off a central runner — a shape resembling piglets nursing. In modern integrated mills, pig iron is delivered as hot metal (liquid) directly to the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) without solidification; the term "pig iron" today usually refers to the solidified, traded form sold to third-party EAF mills and foundries. Grades include basic pig iron (BPI) for steelmaking, foundry pig iron (FPI) for cast iron, and nodular pig iron (NPI) with controlled low S/P for ductile-iron production.

How pig iron is priced

Pig iron has cleared futures on CME Group — the CME Pig Iron CFR New Orleans (Platts) contract is cash-settled against the Platts CFR New Orleans BPI assessment, with New Orleans serving as the key US EAF entry port. Pricing is benchmarked region-by-region: Brazil and Russia/CIS are the dominant seaborne exporters of BPI; daily assessments from Fastmarkets, Argus and Platts cover FOB Brazil, FOB Russia (when sanctions allow), CFR New Orleans and CFR Italy. The structural spread pig iron vs busheling scrap sets the cost of the cleanest virgin-Fe feed for premium-grade EAF steel.

Where pig iron is produced

Global hot-metal (liquid pig iron) production roughly tracks blast-furnace crude steel output and is dominated by China. Per World Steel Association data, world hot metal production was ~1.32 billion tonnes in 2024, of which China supplied ~64%. Major seaborne exporters of solid traded pig iron historically include Brazil (the world's #1 BPI exporter, charcoal-route and coke-route producers in Minas Gerais and Pará — Sinobras, Gerdau, Usiminas, Aço Verde do Brasil), Russia/CIS (Tulachermet, Novolipetsk NLMK, Ural Steel, Mariupol Azovstal pre-2022), South Africa (ArcelorMittal South Africa) and Ukraine (significantly disrupted post-2022). The largest seaborne importer is the United States, where EAF mini-mills use 5-20% pig iron in the charge to dilute residual elements from scrap.

Who produces pig iron

The largest pig-iron-exporting producers (seaborne traded tonnage rather than captive hot metal):

What pig iron is used for

Pig iron has two end-routes:
  • Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) steelmaking — captive hot metal (liquid pig iron) is the feed for the integrated BF-BOF route, accounting for ~70% of world crude steel.
  • EAF clean-charge supplement — solid traded pig iron is added 5-20% to the EAF charge to dilute residual elements (Cu, Sn, Ni, Cr) carried in scrap. This is essential for premium grades like exposed automotive sheet, tinplate and high-strength rebar.
  • Foundry / cast iron — FPI and NPI are remelted in cupola or induction furnaces to make grey, ductile and malleable iron castings (engine blocks, brake discs, pipe fittings, machine tools).
The premium of pig iron over busheling scrap is the cleanest indicator of demand for low-residual virgin iron units globally.

Key facts about pig iron supply

  • Pig iron is covered by the EU CBAM as a precursor product under the iron and steel category since 1 January 2026.
  • Brazilian charcoal-route pig iron (Aço Verde do Brasil and similar) is marketed as "green pig iron" with Scope-1 CO₂ intensity ~80% below the coke-route — an emerging niche in EU decarbonised supply chains.
  • Russian pig iron exports were a major US import source through 2021; tariffs and sanctions have shifted the US import mix toward Brazil and India since 2022.
  • Reserves: not applicable. See Iron Ore upstream for the raw material.

Data sources

Editorial principle: every figure on TSM Hub product pages is sourced from an official primary publication (USGS, LME, World Steel Association, EU regulation, or industry association). No Wikipedia or aggregator citations.

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