Sourcing Signal

Steel flat-rolled products: Landed Cost by Source Country

Which country is cheapest to import steel flat-rolled products from? Mexico carries the lowest duty-plus-freight load (16.01% uplift from $1.21/kg landed), China the highest (80.19%). Every named source ranked, from USITC DataWeb. Free.

The short answer

  • The cheapest place to source steel flat-rolled products is Mexico, where duty (11.12%) plus freight (4.4%) add 16.01% to the pre-tariff price ($1.21/kg landed). China is the most expensive named source at a 80.19% uplift, a 64.18-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 ($1.04/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. Mexico: 16.01% loaded (duty 11.12%, freight 4.4%), $1.21/kg landed, MXN trending cheaper
  • 2. Japan: 18.9% loaded (duty 9.86%, freight 8.23%), $1.24/kg landed, JPY trending flat
  • 3. Brazil: 24.01% loaded (duty 16.75%, freight 6.22%), $1.29/kg landed
  • 4. Germany: 24.9% loaded (duty 17.84%, freight 5.99%), $1.3/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 5. Canada: 26.01% loaded (duty 24.97%, freight 0.83%), $1.31/kg landed, CAD trending dearer
  • 6. Netherlands: 26.58% loaded (duty 19.9%, freight 5.57%), $1.32/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 7. South Korea: 38.74% loaded (duty 27.33%, freight 8.96%), $1.44/kg landed
  • 8. Turkey: 41.17% loaded (duty 34.15%, freight 5.23%), $1.47/kg landed
  • 9. Taiwan: 47.4% loaded (duty 34.16%, freight 9.87%), $1.53/kg landed
  • 10. China: 80.19% loaded (duty 61.32%, freight 11.7%), $1.87/kg landed, CNY trending flat

Sourcing concentration

  • Canada is the largest source at 29.8% of named imports; by the Herfindahl index (1410) this family is diversified.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the cheapest country to import steel flat-rolled products from? Mexico. Its effective duty of 11.12% and freight of 4.4% add 16.01% to the pre-tariff price, the lowest combined load of any named source, for a landed cost of about $1.21/kg.
  • How is the landed cost calculated? Landed cost = the family's average import unit price ($1.04/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 steel flat-rolled products? Canada is the largest source at 29.8% of named imports. By the Herfindahl index (1410), 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.