EN 10219 vs ASTM A500: hollow section standards compared
European EN 10219 and American ASTM A500 hollow sections compared: grades and minimum strengths, impact testing, wall thickness tolerance and design wall, sizes and how to order for each market.
Updated October 16, 2026
Both standards cover cold-formed welded structural hollow sections: square, rectangular and round tubes made from strip and seam-welded. EN 10219 is used in Europe and in projects designed to Eurocode. ASTM A500 is the hollow structural section (HSS) standard in the United States and other AISC markets. The tubes look alike, but the grades, the tests and the way the wall is used in design are different.
Grades and minimum strength
| Standard and grade | Shape | Yield min | Tensile |
|---|---|---|---|
| EN 10219 S235JRH | all | 235 MPa | 360–510 MPa |
| EN 10219 S275J0H | all | 275 MPa | 410–560 MPa |
| EN 10219 S355J2H | all | 355 MPa | 470–630 MPa |
| ASTM A500 Grade B | round | 290 MPa (42 ksi) | min 400 MPa (58 ksi) |
| ASTM A500 Grade B | square / rectangular | 315 MPa (46 ksi) | min 400 MPa (58 ksi) |
| ASTM A500 Grade C | round | 315 MPa (46 ksi) | min 425 MPa (62 ksi) |
| ASTM A500 Grade C | square / rectangular | 345 MPa (50 ksi) | min 425 MPa (62 ksi) |
EN 10219 yield values apply to walls up to 16 mm and EN tensile ranges to walls from 3 to 40 mm. ASTM A500 gives a single minimum per grade and, unlike EN 10219, sets different yield values for round and shaped tubes.
Key differences
| EN 10219 | ASTM A500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Impact test | Part of the grade: 27 J at +20 / 0 / −20 °C (JRH / J0H / J2H) | Not required by the standard; only if agreed as a supplementary requirement |
| Wall thickness tolerance | ±10% for t ≤ 5 mm, ±0.5 mm above 5 mm (EN 10219-2) | At least 90% of the nominal wall at any point |
| Wall used in design | Nominal wall (Eurocode 3) | 0.93 × nominal wall for ERW sections (AISC 360) |
| Size units | Metric: 100 × 100 × 5 | Inch: HSS 4 × 4 × 3/16 |
| Design code | EN 1993 (Eurocode 3) | AISC 360 |
| Market marking | CE marking with a declaration of performance in the EU | Grade, size and mill identification on each length |
The design wall matters when you compare tables. An A500 HSS with a nominal 3/16" (4.76 mm) wall is designed with 4.43 mm, so AISC section properties are lower than the properties of a tube with the same nominal wall calculated to EN 10219. Section properties on our A500 size pages are calculated with this 0.93 design wall.
Can one replace the other?
There is no official one-to-one equivalent. On minimum yield, S355J2H (355 MPa) is close to A500 Grade C shaped (345 MPa), and S275J0H is close to Grade B. The other requirements still differ: impact testing, thickness tolerance, the design wall and the documents each market expects.
- Order the standard named in the drawings and the specification. Local codes and inspectors check the material against it.
- If a substitution is proposed, the engineer of record must approve it in writing, using the properties and tests of the actual product.
- Some mills certify tubes to both standards. The certificate must then show results that meet the requirements of each one.
What we supply
- EN 10219 in S235JRH, S275J0H and S355J2H: square 20×20 to 500×500 mm, rectangular 30×20 to 500×450 mm and circular Ø17.2 to Ø406.4 mm.
- ASTM A500 Grade B and C: square HSS ¾" to 20", rectangular HSS 1½" × 1" to 20" × 16" and round HSS 0.68" to 16" OD.
- Standard length 6 m (20 ft), special lengths on request. EN 10204 3.1 mill certificates on request.
For sizes and weights of the EN range, see Hollow section sizes and weights. For the meaning of the EN grade names, see Hollow section steel grades.
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