According to Taiwan media on February 14, 2025, about 5,000 tons of Vietnamese stainless steel arrived at the port of Taiwan, China, recently, which once again attracted market attention. Due to the rapid and low-price selling of the same batch of goods after their arrival at the port, the buyer’s pricing and shipping strategy has attracted much attention in the industry. According to industry insiders, the Vietnamese Yongjin materials arriving in Hong Kong this month were purchased by two buyers, with procurement volumes of 2,000 tons and 3,000 tons respectively. It is estimated that the warehousing cost of this batch of materials is about 62,000-63,000 New Taiwan Dollars per ton (author’s note: 13,714.4-13,935.6 RMB), which is 1,500-2,500 RMB per ton higher than the current market acceptable transaction price.
Looking back to November and December last year, when Vietnamese Yongjin materials arrived at the port, the market transactions in Taiwan were extremely cold. To win the order, the buyer invited orders at a price far below the market price as soon as the goods were in the warehouse, causing the transaction price to plummet. In view of this, many insiders are worried that after the arrival of goods in February, whether such a sharp fluctuation in prices will occur again. At the beginning of this year, the market environment in Taiwan has changed. On the one hand, the pressure of capital flow has eased compared to the end of last year; On the other hand, the United States has imposed a uniform 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum, which has put Taiwan’s main competitors Japan, South Korea, and the European Union on the same competitive starting line as Taiwan after losing their immunity. Against this backdrop, whether the orders from Taiwan to the United States can pick up has become a key concern for steel mills. Whether this factor will affect the sales strategy in the second half of the month has also become the focus of the market in the near future.