STEEL MARKET REPORT
The US steel industry is set to grow, despite unorthodox economic policies.
economic security. “This decisive action sends a clear message to the world: the United States will not tolerate unfair trade practices that harm American workers and industries,” Bell says. Kevin Dempsey, president and chief executive officer of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), also voiced support for “the president’s actions to restore the integrity of the tariffs on steel and to implement a robust and reinvigorated programme to address unfair trade practices”. “But given the recent volatility and questions about the tariffs and other policies that the Trump administration could enact, it remains somewhat uncertain as to how everything will shake out,” Ronald Piso, sales manager for GW Becker, says. He notes that, given the recent volatility and questions about the tariffs and other policies that the Trump administration could enact, there could be short-term volatility, but long-term stability and growth, especially given the uncertainty whether some of the funding from certain legislation
62 Summer 2025 |
ochmagazine.com
passed by the Biden administration such as the IIJA infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS & Science Act that were expected to have a positive impact upon the steel market and the US economy, could be rescinded. Ryan McKinley, a CRU senior steel analyst
notes that while under the Trump administration’s stated policies, and less competition from abroad, domestic steelmakers could be even more profitable – that is assuming that demand continues to chug along. However, he pointed out that if inflation picks up again – which is possible with the tariffs – there is risk that steel demand could decline.
Technological advancements in crane systems Already two major US indices – the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index and the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index – declined sharply in February and could fall further with many US economists stating that it is
increasingly possible that the US economy could slip into a recession later this year. KeyBanc’s Gibbs says that while he wouldn’t
characterise any of the major domestic end-use markets as being overly strong and with there being some variations in the various steel consuming sectors, on average US steel demand is fairly steady with some companies expressing optimism that the market will see some improvement, particularly toward the back half of the year. However, Gibbs says that is yet to determined and is based upon the hope that there is more clarity about business conditions: “The current uncertainty related to the tariffs and other factors are currently creating some anxieties around business planning and domestic consumers’ willingness to commit capital to projects.” This is also coming at a time when the US steel industry had been already increasing its production capacity and has plans to continue to do so over the next several years, both through new greenfield
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71
