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Notes from the physical metals market

How the exchange matches orders, how a deal is priced and delivered, and what is moving in the market — written for people who trade metal, not for search engines.

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What we write about

Ten sections. Each one is where a question actually comes up in a deal or in working with metal, not where a keyword happens to sit.

Articles

  • HS codes for stainless steel sheet: heading 7219

    HS code for stainless steel sheet: heading 7219 and codes 721922, 721923, 721932, 721933, 721934 by thickness. How hot and cold rolling change the code.

    • Customs and HS codes
    • 5 min read

  • HS codes for round bar and angle: heading 7222

    HS codes 722211, 722220 and 722240: how hot-rolled and calibrated round bar, angle and profiled sections of stainless steel are classified.

    • Customs and HS codes
    • 5 min read

  • Customs clearance of rolled steel

    Customs clearance of rolled steel: the stages, the documents, the HS code and the customs value, and what the release time of a batch depends on.

    • Customs and HS codes
    • 6 min read

  • Welding stainless steel: with what and how

    How stainless steel is welded: methods, electrodes and wire, shielding gas and purging. What to do so the weld does not lose corrosion resistance and does not rust.

    • Machining
    • 6 min read

  • Cargo and liability insurance

    Cargo insurance for steel products: what the policy covers, when insurance is required by the basis, what the cost is made up of and how to obtain a pay-out.

    • Customs and HS codes
    • 7 min read

  • Coil, flat bar and strip: how they differ

    Stainless steel coil, flat bar and strip: how they differ in delivery form, edge and thickness, what skelp is, and which format is ordered most often.

    • Grades and materials
    • 6 min read

  • Cutting stainless steel: laser, plasma, abrasive waterjet

    How stainless steel is cut: laser, plasma, abrasive waterjet and mechanical methods. How to choose a method by thickness and edge, where nitrogen is needed and where oxygen.

    • Machining
    • 6 min read

  • Settlements in yuan and currency control

    Settlements in yuan for metal on the GCX exchange: trade currencies, the Bank of Russia fixing as the rate for converting the fee, and what is fixed in a trade.

    • Customs and HS codes
    • 5 min read

  • Production of stainless steel in Russia: plants and import substitution

    Production of stainless steel in Russia and import substitution as a process: the chain of processing stages, types of enterprises, and what this means for buying metal.

    • Market
    • 11 min read

  • Where stainless steel is used

    Industries that use stainless steel, service temperatures for AISI 304 and 316, choosing a grade for the environment and typical mistakes when substituting.

    • Applications
    • 11 min read