Sourcing Signal

Aluminum articles: Landed Cost by Source Country

Which country is cheapest to import aluminum articles from? France carries the lowest duty-plus-freight load (15.41% uplift from $32/kg landed), China the highest (72.02%). Every named source ranked, from USITC DataWeb. Free.

The short answer

  • The cheapest place to source aluminum articles is France, where duty (12.72%) plus freight (2.39%) add 15.41% to the pre-tariff price ($32/kg landed). China is the most expensive named source at a 72.02% uplift, a 56.61-point spread across lanes.

How to read this

  • Each source country's rank comes from its own real effective duty and freight share (USITC DataWeb), combined as (1 + duty) x (1 + freight). Lower is a cheaper lane.
  • The dollar landed cost scales this family's average import unit price ($27.7/kg) by each lane's uplift, so lanes differ by their own duty and freight.
  • The FX tag is a short-window cost direction from the currency's recent drift, not a dollar recompute.

Every source country ranked, cheapest first

  • 1. France: 15.41% loaded (duty 12.72%, freight 2.39%), $32/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 2. Mexico: 17.97% loaded (duty 17.21%, freight 0.65%), $32.7/kg landed, MXN trending cheaper
  • 3. Canada: 20.15% loaded (duty 18.14%, freight 1.7%), $33.3/kg landed, CAD trending dearer
  • 4. Germany: 26.98% loaded (duty 22.91%, freight 3.31%), $35.2/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 5. Japan: 31.18% loaded (duty 27.38%, freight 2.98%), $36.3/kg landed, JPY trending flat
  • 6. Taiwan: 32.52% loaded (duty 27.04%, freight 4.31%), $36.7/kg landed
  • 7. South Korea: 32.82% loaded (duty 26.21%, freight 5.24%), $36.8/kg landed
  • 8. Vietnam: 38.24% loaded (duty 27.4%, freight 8.51%), $38.3/kg landed
  • 9. India: 38.48% loaded (duty 31.07%, freight 5.65%), $38.4/kg landed
  • 10. China: 72.02% loaded (duty 60.89%, freight 6.92%), $47.7/kg landed, CNY trending flat

Sourcing concentration

  • China is the largest source at 22.7% of named imports; by the Herfindahl index (1210) this family is diversified.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the cheapest country to import aluminum articles from? France. Its effective duty of 12.72% and freight of 2.39% add 15.41% to the pre-tariff price, the lowest combined load of any named source, for a landed cost of about $32/kg.
  • How is the landed cost calculated? Landed cost = the family's average import unit price ($27.7/kg) times each lane's duty-plus-freight uplift. Because the base price is the family average, lanes differ by their own real duty and freight from USITC DataWeb, so the ranking is genuine even though a per-country price is not yet published.
  • How concentrated is sourcing of aluminum articles? China is the largest source at 22.7% of named imports. By the Herfindahl index (1210), this family is diversified. A concentrated map means fewer places to move volume if one lane's duty jumps.

About this data

  • A sourcing-comparison indicator, not a customs quote. Lane ranking uses each country's real effective duty and freight share from USITC DataWeb; a dollar landed cost, where shown, scales the family's average import unit price and does not price a specific shipment. FX is a short-window cost direction, not a currency recompute. Confirm classification and duty with a licensed broker before you buy.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.