Sourcing Signal

Fabricated structural steel: Landed Cost by Source Country

Which country is cheapest to import fabricated structural steel from? Netherlands carries the lowest duty-plus-freight load (5.18% uplift from $2.95/kg landed), China the highest (80.53%). Every named source ranked, from USITC DataWeb. Free.

The short answer

  • The cheapest place to source fabricated structural steel is Netherlands, where duty (4.05%) plus freight (1.09%) add 5.18% to the pre-tariff price ($2.95/kg landed). China is the most expensive named source at a 80.53% uplift, a 75.35-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 ($2.8/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. Netherlands: 5.18% loaded (duty 4.05%, freight 1.09%), $2.95/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 2. Mexico: 8.39% loaded (duty 7.7%, freight 0.64%), $3.04/kg landed, MXN trending cheaper
  • 3. Belgium: 8.39% loaded (duty 6.26%, freight 2%), $3.04/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 4. Canada: 13.58% loaded (duty 12.42%, freight 1.03%), $3.18/kg landed, CAD trending dearer
  • 5. United Arab Emirates: 23.01% loaded (duty 20.66%, freight 1.95%), $3.44/kg landed
  • 6. South Korea: 25.65% loaded (duty 17.55%, freight 6.89%), $3.52/kg landed
  • 7. Denmark: 28.06% loaded (duty 26.18%, freight 1.49%), $3.59/kg landed
  • 8. Germany: 30.92% loaded (duty 27.27%, freight 2.87%), $3.67/kg landed, EUR trending flat
  • 9. India: 38.36% loaded (duty 25.62%, freight 10.14%), $3.87/kg landed
  • 10. China: 80.53% loaded (duty 57.86%, freight 14.36%), $5.06/kg landed, CNY trending flat

Sourcing concentration

  • Mexico is the largest source at 22.1% of named imports; by the Herfindahl index (990) this family is diversified.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the cheapest country to import fabricated structural steel from? Netherlands. Its effective duty of 4.05% and freight of 1.09% add 5.18% to the pre-tariff price, the lowest combined load of any named source, for a landed cost of about $2.95/kg.
  • How is the landed cost calculated? Landed cost = the family's average import unit price ($2.8/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 fabricated structural steel? Mexico is the largest source at 22.1% of named imports. By the Herfindahl index (990), 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.