Steel Products

STI sees jobs, tariffs, and commercial as top 2025 priorities

December 13, 2024

The Steel Tube Institute (STI) has outlined three priorities for 2025: skilled trade jobs, tariffs, and commercial building adaptations.

STI said the priorities reflect anticipated changes to steel and manufacturing. These are due to the incoming presidential administration.

Jobs

STI said a renewed interest in domestic manufacturing will boost local economies.

Additionally, it will “create hundreds of thousands of high-paying skilled labor jobs, which are becoming increasingly appealing to young professionals,” according to a statement on Wed, Dec. 11.

“The push to trade gasoline-powered cars, natural gas heating and gas stoves for their electric counterparts will drive demand for skilled electricians,” Dale Crawford, executive director of STI, said in the statement.

“This is why the Steel Tube Institute and its member companies are advocating for a new generation of skilled tradespeople to support electrification across industries,” he added.

Crawford said STI hopes the next generation is aware of opportunities “outside of college and the gig economy.”

Tariffs

STI supports tariffs on imports for items that can be produced domestically.

The institute and its member companies “are prioritizing their support for more funding for commercial enforcement for customs and border protection.”

“As innovation continues to add complexity to products, customs and border protection agents must be equipped with the resources to properly implement tariffs,” STI added.

The organization has broadened its bylaws to join forces with its Canadian counterparts. They aim “to ensure continued quality and clean practices are appropriately enforced as steel products are imported from foreign manufacturers.”

Commercial building adaptations

STI cited a recent Deloitte study noting that commercial real estate is expected to rebound in 2025. Global economic growth and lower inflation are seen bringing stability to the market, the study said.

This will give “new life to buildings that have remained vacant in the years since the pandemic,” STI said.

The institute expects changes to the way older commercial buildings – especially high-rises – are used “will necessitate changes to how those buildings are wired.”

“These changes, coupled with growing pressure to demonstrate sustainability, make a strong case for the use of steel conduit in electrical raceways,” STI added.

STI’s Crawford said companies returning to the office after working remotely “are looking for buildings that meet their customers’ demand for efficiency and sustainability.”

The Steel Tube Institute is a Chicago-based organization that promotes the steel tube industry.

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Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.