October 13, 2026 · Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel Sheet Supplier in China: 304 and 316 Order Guide 2026
A stainless steel sheet supplier is only worth your container slot when the grade, the tolerance and the price still hold at your door. In October 2026 the Wuxi benchmark for 2.0mm 304 2B cold rolled sheet was RMB 14,100 per tonne, about $2,107 including VAT. Export quotes land above that once packing and freight are added. Here is how to order without paying for surprises.
I quote stainless sheet, coil and tube to importers in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Europe. The first email almost always asks the same two things. What is your best price per ton, and how fast can you ship.
Both are fair questions. But a price only means something once the grade, finish, thickness and tolerance are fixed. Most disputes I see do not come from a bad mill. They come from a thin RFQ.
What a 304 stainless steel sheet costs right now
Start from the domestic Chinese benchmark, because that is the number the mills price off. Mysteel assessed 304 2B cold rolled coil, 2.0mm by 1240mm, from Hongwang in Wuxi at RMB 14,100 per tonne including 13 percent VAT on October 10, 2026. That was after the National Day break, and the 300 series was the softest of the three families.
Export pricing sits above that benchmark. You add export packing, inland trucking, documentation and the supplier margin, so a standard 304 2B order normally quotes between $2,300 and $2,700 per tonne FOB depending on thickness and tonnage. Thin sheet under 1mm costs more per tonne than 2mm, because the rolling passes and the packing cost are spread over less metal.
| Grade | Where it fits | October 2026 reference |
|---|---|---|
| 201 | Handrails, furniture, indoor panels, dry indoor use | Usually 25 to 35 percent below 304 per tonne |
| 304 / 304L | Kitchens, food equipment, general fabrication, tanks | RMB 14,100/t ($2,107/t) Wuxi, 2.0mm 2B, Oct 10 (Mysteel) |
| 316 / 316L | Chemical, marine, pharma, chloride exposure | 30 to 40 percent above 304, driven by the molybdenum content |
| 430 | Appliances, decorative trim, magnetic parts | Roughly half of 304; RMB 7,300 to 7,750/t in China in July (BigMint) |
Direction matters as much as the level. SMM reported on October 8 that Indonesian 304 hot rolled coil cost fell only 1.7 percent in the third quarter while nickel pig iron dropped 8.2 percent. At quarter end, Indonesian 304 HRC was still about $178 per tonne above full cost. That gap means mills have room to move on price in the fourth quarter. If you are buying a full container, it is worth asking twice.
Europe is the opposite story. The European 304 alloy surcharge fell EUR158 per tonne in the third quarter, but CIF prices into Europe still rose 2.8 percent. Surcharge and landed price are not the same thing, and the spread is where importers get caught.
What to put in your RFQ so the quote is usable
Nine out of ten slow quotes come from a missing detail. Send these ten lines and you will get a firm number the first time.
- Grade and standard - 304, 304L, 316L, 201, 2205, with the standard you need (ASTM A240, EN 10088-2, JIS G4305).
- Finish - 2B, BA, No.4, HL, 8K mirror or No.1. A finish change can move the price more than a grade change.
- Thickness and tolerance - nominal thickness plus the tolerance you accept, for example 2.0mm with plus or minus 0.1mm.
- Size - 1219 x 2438, 1500 x 3000, or coil with the inner diameter and maximum coil weight.
- Quantity - in tonnes, not in sheets, if you want a per-tonne price.
- Edge - mill edge, slit edge or trimmed, and whether the sheet must be square cut.
- Certificate - EN 10204 3.1 mill test certificate, and whether third party inspection is required.
- Surface protection - PVC film, laser film or paper interleave. For No.4 and 8K, film is close to mandatory against scratching.
- Destination port - so the quote is a real FOB or CIF figure, not an ex-works guess.
- Payment preference - T/T deposit, L/C at sight, or open account if you already have a history with the mill.
If you are still choosing between grades, the selection logic behind each stainless steel sheet and coil grade is worth ten minutes before you send the enquiry. Changing grade after the mill starts means a new heat and a new lead time.
What is the MOQ for stainless steel sheet?
Benchmark export lots are quoted from 20 tonnes. That is the volume Mysteel uses for its Chinese export price assessments, with full payment by T/T before shipment and delivery within 15 days.
In practice, standard 201 and 304 sizes already in stock can start much lower, around 1 to 5 tonnes, but you pay a higher price per tonne because you are effectively buying from inventory. Special finishes and duplex grades need more tonnage, because the line setup cost has to sit somewhere.
A 20ft container is a natural order size for sheet. It is enough to hit mill pricing and small enough to keep your cash moving.
Which payment terms make sense on a first order
| Terms | When it fits |
|---|---|
| 30% T/T deposit, 70% against B/L copy | The normal middle ground. The mill funds production, you keep the balance until the goods are on the water. |
| 100% T/T before shipment | What mills ask on benchmark export lots. Only accept it after you have the MTC and loading photos. |
| L/C at sight | Worth the bank fee above roughly $50,000, or when either side is new to the other. |
One rule I give every first time buyer. Never pay the balance before you have seen the mill test certificate and photos of the loaded container with the seal number.
How your sheet is checked and packed before it ships
Thickness is measured with a micrometer at several points on each sheet, not just once at the edge. For 316 orders, ask for PMI testing. A 304 heat swapped into a 316 order is the most expensive mistake in this trade and PMI catches it in seconds.
Packing is where surface quality is won or lost. Paper interleave between sheets, PVC film on No.4, HL and 8K, wooden pallets, steel strapping and eye-to-sky orientation. Sheets travel upright in the container with the surface vertical, never flat and stacked unsupported.
Ask for loading photos, the container number and the seal number. Ten minutes of photos save a month of argument.
Which markets are still open in 2026
Europe got tighter this year. From July 1, 2026 the EU cut its cold rolled stainless steel quota by about 47 percent to 496,342 tonnes, and the hot rolled and plate quotas were cut by 65 percent and 62 percent. European demand still exists, but quota premium is now part of the landed cost.
Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa are where the volume sits, and where our orders mostly go. Duty, VAT and safeguard measures change by country, and 2026 was an active year for trade cases, so confirm the current rate with your broker rather than a table someone published last year.
For classification, flat rolled stainless steel 600mm wide and over is HS 7219, with cold rolled sheet under 7219.32 to 7219.35 and hot rolled plate under 7219.11 to 7219.24. Under 600mm width the code is 7220. Give your broker the MTC with the exact grade so the entry holds at destination.
How much freight a container of stainless sheet adds
Sheet is heavy, so you hit weight limits long before volume. A 20ft box takes about 24 to 25 tonnes. A 40ft takes only a little more, around 25 to 26 tonnes, because road limits bite first. Splitting a 40 tonne order across two 20ft containers is often cheaper than one 40ft.
For a quick estimate, 1.0mm 4x8 sheet weighs about 23.6kg per sheet at 304 density, so 1,000 sheets is close to one 20ft container. Work out the tonnes first, then the square meters, then pick the box.
Get a firm number on your specification
Send us the grade, finish, thickness, size, tonnage and destination port, and we will come back with a real price, a lead time and the certificate we can issue. We cut sheet to size on our own fiber laser cutting machines when you need blanks instead of full sheets.
You can see the full stainless steel sheet and coil program or send the enquiry straight through our contact page. A drawing or a photo of the current material is enough for us to quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the price of 304 stainless steel sheet in October 2026?
Mysteel assessed 304 2B cold rolled coil, 2.0mm by 1240mm, in Wuxi at RMB 14,100 per tonne including 13 percent VAT on October 10, 2026, about $2,107 at 6.7. Export quotes sit above that once packing, inland freight and margin are added, so plan on roughly $2,300 to $2,700 per tonne FOB for standard 304 2B sheet and ask for a fresh quote before you commit.
What is the MOQ for stainless steel sheet from China?
Benchmark export lots are quoted from 20 tonnes, which is the volume Mysteel uses for its Chinese export assessments. Standard 201 and 304 sizes held in stock can often start lower, around 1 to 5 tonnes, but the per-tonne price is higher. Special finishes and duplex grades need more tonnage because of the line setup.
How do I check the material before it ships?
Ask for the mill test certificate under EN 10204 3.1 with the heat number, plus a third party inspection from SGS, BV or Intertek on larger orders. For 316, ask for PMI testing so you do not receive 304 by mistake. You can see our stainless steel sheet and coil range for the standard grades and finishes.
Which payment terms are normal for a first stainless steel order?
30 percent deposit by T/T and 70 percent against the bill of lading copy is the usual middle ground. Mills often ask for full T/T before shipment on benchmark lots, and L/C at sight makes sense above about $50,000 because it protects both sides.
What is the HS code for stainless steel sheet?
Flat rolled stainless steel 600mm wide and over sits under 7219, with 7219.32 to 7219.35 covering cold rolled sheet and 7219.11 to 7219.24 covering hot rolled plate. Under 600mm the code moves to 7220. Confirm the exact line with your customs broker because trade measures on stainless changed several times in 2026.
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Sources: Mysteel daily export price assessment for Chinese stainless steel, Foshan, October 13, 2026 (benchmark export lots quoted from 20 tonnes, full payment by T/T before shipment, delivery within 15 days); Mysteel weekly China stainless steel review, October 12, 2026 (304 2B Hongwang 2.0mm x 1240mm cold rolled coil in Wuxi at RMB 14,100 per tonne including 13 percent VAT on October 10, 2026); SMM Q3 2026 ex-China stainless steel review, October 8, 2026 (Indonesian NPI down 8.2 percent, 304 hot rolled coil cost down 1.7 percent, Indonesian 304 HRC FOB about $178 per tonne above full cost and $292 above cash cost at quarter end, Europe 304 alloy surcharge down EUR158 per tonne while CIF prices rose 2.8 percent); BigMint Asia stainless steel market report, July 2026 (EU cold rolled stainless quota cut about 47 percent to 496,342 tonnes from July 1, 2026, hot rolled and plate quotas cut 65 percent and 62 percent; China 304 cold rolled about RMB 15,000 per tonne and 430 cold rolled RMB 7,300 to 7,750 per tonne in early July); IndexBox with BSSA conference report, June 2026 (supply stability overtook price as the top purchasing priority for stainless steel buyers in 2026). Price bands are FANY LASER planning ranges for October 2026 and move with the nickel and NPI base. Check every figure against your own quotation, mill certificate and broker ruling before you commit.