Where to find live HRC prices
Primary sources onlyTSM does not display real-time HRC 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.
- Cleared futuresLME Steel HRC FOB China (Argus) — cleared futures ↗
- Cleared futuresLME Steel HRC North-West Europe ↗
- Cleared futuresLME Steel HRC North America ↗
- Cleared futuresSHFE Hot-Rolled Coil futures (CNY) ↗
- Benchmark administrator (PRA)Argus Metals — HRC assessments ↗
- Benchmark administrator (PRA)S&P Global Platts — HRC indices ↗
- Benchmark administrator (PRA)Fastmarkets — HRC methodology & prices ↗
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 Hot-Rolled Coil (HRC)
Editorial · sourcedWhat is hot-rolled coil (HRC)?
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) is flat-rolled carbon steel produced by passing a continuous-cast slab through a hot rolling mill at temperatures above the recrystallisation point (typically 1,100–1,250 °C), then coiling the finished strip. Typical commercial-grade HRC is 1.2–25 mm thick and up to ~2 m wide, supplied in coils of 10–30 tonnes. HRC is the dominant flat-product form globally — most automotive body sheet, structural sections, pipes, tubes and welded products start as HRC and are then cold-rolled, coated or cut to the final form. China alone produces over half of world HRC.
How HRC is priced
HRC has three regulated cash-settled futures contracts on the London Metal Exchange Ferrous complex:
- LME Steel HRC FOB China (Argus) — Asian export benchmark, settled against the daily Argus FOB China HRC assessment. Cash-settled in US dollars.
- LME Steel HRC North-West Europe — Europe benchmark, settled against Platts HRC NWE.
- LME Steel HRC North America — US benchmark, settled against Platts HRC US Midwest.
Where HRC is produced
HRC production roughly tracks crude-steel output. Top crude-steel producers in 2025e per USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — Iron and Steel: China 980 Mt, India 160 Mt, USA 82 Mt, Japan 81 Mt, Russia 65 Mt, South Korea 60 Mt, Germany 38 Mt, Turkey 37 Mt, Brazil 35 Mt, Iran 32 Mt. China alone supplies over 50% of world flat-product capacity. The largest single HRC-export flow is from East Asia (China, Japan, South Korea) into ASEAN and the Middle East; intra-EU and intra-NAFTA flows are dominated by integrated producers protected by anti-dumping duties.
Who produces HRC
The largest HRC producers are integrated steelmakers with hot-strip mills attached to blast-furnace / basic-oxygen-furnace (BF-BOF) routes, plus the largest scrap-fed EAF mini-mills:
- Asia: China Baowu, Ansteel, HBIS, Shougang, Nippon Steel, JFE Steel, POSCO, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Hyundai Steel.
- Europe: ArcelorMittal, thyssenkrupp Steel, voestalpine, Tata Steel Europe, Salzgitter.
- Americas: Cleveland-Cliffs (integrated, USA), Nucor (EAF, USA, world's largest EAF), Steel Dynamics, Ternium (Latin America).
What HRC is used for
HRC is converted into the bulk of downstream flat-steel products:
- Cold-rolled coil (CRC) for automotive body panels, white goods, packaging (food cans).
- Galvanised / coated sheet (HDG, GA, electrogalvanised) — corrosion-protected auto and construction sheet.
- Welded pipes and tubes for oil & gas line pipe, structural tube, conduit.
- Structural sections (light hot-rolled sections, sheet piling).
- Heavy-equipment fabrications — yellow goods, mining equipment, agricultural machinery.
Key facts about HRC supply
- The EU CBAM (Regulation 2023/956) covers HRC imports into the EU since 1 January 2026 — importers must surrender carbon certificates priced against EU ETS allowances.
- Over half of world HRC trade is on long-term annual or quarterly contracts between mills and large auto-makers; spot tonnage accounts for ~25-35% of total flows and dominates the futures benchmark.
- Reserves: not applicable. See Iron Ore for the upstream raw-material reserves and Steel group page for the parent-product overview.