By roll-forming steel coil at ambient temperature, rather than by hot rolling a shaped section. Because the input is coil, thickness and width can be varied freely and sections can be produced economically in light gauges and in dimensions that would never justify a hot-rolling run. It also means the interlock is folded from the same sheet rather than rolled as a heavy dedicated profile.

For temporary works, trench and excavation support, small cofferdams, lighter permanent retaining walls, erosion control and river bank protection, in ground that is not dense and where obstructions are unlikely. They suit situations where cost, availability and lead time matter and where the structural and driving demands are modest.

Their folded interlocks are weaker than hot-rolled equivalents and tolerate less abuse, so in dense granular ground, made ground or where obstructions are present they are more prone to distortion and to declutching. Sections can also deform locally under heavy hammer energy. Ground investigation matters, and where driving is expected to be hard, hot-rolled sections are the safer specification.

Less reliably than hot-rolled piles. The lighter interlocks and thinner material are more likely to be damaged during driving and extraction, so the proportion recoverable in serviceable condition after a job is lower. They can be reused where driving was easy and extraction careful, but reuse should not be assumed in costing a temporary works scheme in the way it can be with hot-rolled sections.

For lighter permanent applications, yes, provided the design accounts for the section properties and an appropriate corrosion allowance is applied to what is often thinner material. Because loss of thickness has proportionally more effect on a thin section, corrosion allowances are relatively more significant. For deep or heavily loaded permanent walls, hot-rolled sections are the normal choice.

Cold-formed sections are generally lighter with lower section modulus, covering the light and intermediate range rather than the heavy end. Compare on section modulus per metre of wall as with any sheet pile, and note that published properties may allow for the effects of cold forming on the material. Do not assume equivalence with a hot-rolled section of similar nominal dimensions.

Generally flexible, because piles are cut from continuous coil rather than from rolled lengths, so non-standard lengths are usually straightforward and long piles are available without splicing. That flexibility, combined with shorter lead times, is one of the practical attractions of the type where a project needs specific lengths quickly.