Grade, document, weight: how to read what is written on the tag

Chinese mills roll to GB, projects in Uzbekistan are designed to GOST, export certificates are written to ASTM and EN. Twelve articles on what matches, what does not, and what to write into the contract so that acceptance goes by the documents.

12 articles · Standards and grades · Documents and control · Weight and logistics

Standards and grades

Where GOST, GB, ASTM and EN agree on the numbers, where they do not, and how to write a pair of grades into the contract.

GOST 34028-2016 · GB/T 1499.2-2018 A500C versus HRB400E and HRB500E: what matches and what does not The specification says A500C to GOST 34028-2016, the Chinese mill rolls to GB/T 1499.2-2018. Which of the two 500-grades to write into the contract, and why HRB400E does not replace A500C without recalculation. updated 17.09.2026 GOST 380-2005 · GOST 14637-89 · GB/T 700-2006 · EN 10025-2:2019 · ASTM A36/A36M St3sp, Q235B, S235JR, A36: one plate under four names General structural steel in four standards. Where the numbers coincide, where they differ by tenths, and why the “sp” in GOST and the “B” in GB answer for different things. updated 17.09.2026 GOST 19281-2014 · GB/T 1591-2018 · EN 10025-2:2019 · ASTM A572/A572M 09G2S and Q345B, Q355B: low-alloy plate for loaded structures Q345B disappeared from GB/T 1591 in 2018 but lives on in old certificates. How Q355B differs from 09G2S in numbers, where their test temperatures part ways, and what to write into the contract when the structure works in frost. updated 17.09.2026 GOST 8639-82 · GOST 8645-68 · GOST 30245-2003 · GB/T 6728-2017 · EN 10219-1 · ASTM A500/A500M Hollow sections: GOST 8639, GOST 8645 and GB/T 6728 Square to GOST 8639, rectangular to GOST 8645, both to GB/T 6728. How to write the size so that the mill understands it, where the 2.86 in the mass formula comes from, and why the steel grade for a section carries the letter H when the standard is EN. updated 17.09.2026 GOST 10704-91 · GOST 8732-78 · GB/T 3091-2015 · GB/T 8163-2018 · ASTM A53/A53M · ASTM A106/A106M Welded or seamless: which pipe to write into the specification Both pipes come in the same diameter, the same wall and the same grade, yet they cost and work differently. The standards for both in four systems, where a weld is acceptable and where it is not, and why A53 and A106 with identical mechanics are different pipes. updated 17.09.2026 EN 10346:2015 · GB/T 2518-2019 · GOST 14918-2020 · ASTM A653/A653M Galvanised sheet DX51D+Z: how to read the grade and the zinc class Z120, Z275 DX51D describes the steel under the coating, Z275 the zinc itself, and the specification must carry both. What each letter means under EN 10346, how grams per square metre turn into microns per side, and where Z120 exists and where it does not. updated 17.09.2026

Documents and control

Mill certificate, inspection report, contract: what backs a batch from the mill and what a batch from the market lacks.

EN 10204:2004 · GB/T 18253 · GOST 7566-2018 How to read a mill certificate: EN 10204, type 3.1 and type 3.2 The mill test certificate is the only document that links a bundle in the warehouse to a heat in the furnace. Which fields it must contain, what the “3.1” in the corner means, and why 3.1 and 3.2 are not interchangeable in either direction. updated 17.09.2026 GOST 34028-2016 · GB/T 1499.2-2018 · GOST 19903-2015 · GB/T 709-2019 Inspection report with photographs: what is checked at the mill before shipment The certificate says which steel was melted. The inspection report says which steel lies in the bundles that will travel to you. The fields of the report, the measurements by product type, the photographs attached to it, and what happens when something does not match. updated 17.09.2026 GOST 7566-2018 · EN 10204:2004 How a delivery from the mill differs from a purchase at the market At the market the steel is there today; from the mill it comes as a batch to a specification. The difference is not in speed or in price per tonne, but in what is known about the steel and who answers if it is not what was ordered. updated 17.09.2026

Weight and logistics

How metres become tonnes, tonnes become wagons and containers, and a batch crosses the border with a complete set of papers.

GOST 34028-2016 · GB/T 1499.2-2018 Mass per metre of rebar and the 11.7 m bar: how many bars in a tonne The specification is counted in tonnes, the warehouse counts bundles in bars, the project counts metres. One formula links the three units, and the table below is its result for every diameter from 6 to 40 mm. updated 17.09.2026 GOST 19903-2015 · GOST 19904-90 · GB/T 709-2019 · GB/T 708-2019 Mass of plate and coil: square metre, sheet, coil Plate is counted from the square metre, coil from the running metre of strip or from two diameters. Formulas, tables for the common 1 500×6 000 and 1 250×2 500 formats, and how the mass at the lower thickness tolerance differs from the mass at nominal. updated 17.09.2026 SMGS · TN VED 72, 73 How steel travels from China to Uzbekistan: gauge, container, open wagon, documents A batch crosses two borders and one change of gauge. Which steel travels by container, which by open wagon, where it is transshipped, what papers are needed at each node, and why no transit times are named in this article. updated 17.09.2026

A stack of steel plates in the warehouse — TAMINOTA STEEL knowledge section

The grade on the tag is read in a minute. Understanding what stands behind it is done once, for the whole specification.

GOST, GB, ASTM and EN side by side

A summary table of the closest equivalents for the grades that specifications most often arrive with. Each pair is analysed in detail in the articles above.

GOST	GB (China)	ASTM	EN	Used for
St3sp / St3ps	GB (China)Q235B	ASTMA36	ENS235JR	Used forgeneral structural steel
09G2S	GB (China)Q345B / Q355B	ASTMA572 Gr.50	ENS355JR	Used forlow-alloy for loaded structures
A500C	GB (China)HRB500E	ASTMGrade 75 (520)	ENB500B	Used forribbed reinforcing bar
Steel 20	GB (China)20#	ASTMA106 Gr.B	ENP235GH	Used forseamless pipe, boilers, machine parts
Steel 45	GB (China)45#	ASTM1045	ENC45	Used forshafts, axles, fasteners
08ps / 08kp	GB (China)SPCC / DC01	ASTMA1008 CS	ENDC01	Used forcold-rolled sheet
08Kh18N10	GB (China)06Cr19Ni10	ASTM304 / 304L	EN1.4301 / 1.4307	Used forgeneral-purpose stainless steel
12Kh18N10T	GB (China)06Cr18Ni11Ti	ASTM321	EN1.4541	Used fortitanium-stabilised stainless steel
Ductile iron, GOST ISO 2531	GB (China)GB/T 13295	ASTMA536	ENEN 545 / ISO 2531	Used forductile iron water pipe

Equivalents are the closest match, not identical: chemistry and tolerances differ between standards. The exact grade and standard are written into the contract.

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Steel pricing depends on grade, size, tonnage and delivery terms on the day of contract. A number on the page would be wrong by the time you read it.