Sourcing Signal

Aluminum semi-finished products: Landed Cost by Source Country

Which country is cheapest to import aluminum semi-finished products from? Thailand carries the lowest duty-plus-freight load (30% uplift from $5.53/kg landed), China the highest (74.98%). Every named source ranked, from USITC DataWeb. Free.

The short answer

  • The cheapest place to source aluminum semi-finished products is Thailand, where duty (24.22%) plus freight (4.65%) add 30% to the pre-tariff price ($5.53/kg landed). China is the most expensive named source at a 74.98% uplift, a 44.98-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 ($4.26/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. Thailand: 30% loaded (duty 24.22%, freight 4.65%), $5.53/kg landed
  • 2. Saudi Arabia: 31.15% loaded (duty 20.99%, freight 8.4%), $5.58/kg landed
  • 3. Bahrain: 31.23% loaded (duty 26.82%, freight 3.48%), $5.58/kg landed
  • 4. Canada: 31.77% loaded (duty 28.91%, freight 2.22%), $5.61/kg landed, CAD trending dearer
  • 5. Greece: 32.47% loaded (duty 27.73%, freight 3.71%), $5.64/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 6. South Korea: 38.68% loaded (duty 32.89%, freight 4.36%), $5.9/kg landed
  • 7. India: 39.24% loaded (duty 33.32%, freight 4.44%), $5.92/kg landed
  • 8. Oman: 39.72% loaded (duty 31.55%, freight 6.21%), $5.95/kg landed
  • 9. Germany: 43.01% loaded (duty 34.84%, freight 6.06%), $6.09/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 10. China: 74.98% loaded (duty 66.87%, freight 4.86%), $7.45/kg landed, CNY trending flat

Sourcing concentration

  • Canada is the largest source at 20.1% of named imports; by the Herfindahl index (720) this family is diversified.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the cheapest country to import aluminum semi-finished products from? Thailand. Its effective duty of 24.22% and freight of 4.65% add 30% to the pre-tariff price, the lowest combined load of any named source, for a landed cost of about $5.53/kg.
  • How is the landed cost calculated? Landed cost = the family's average import unit price ($4.26/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 semi-finished products? Canada is the largest source at 20.1% of named imports. By the Herfindahl index (720), 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.