Olympic Steel sees increased line pipe jobs while lead times jump on Trump tariffs threats

Olympic Steel has seen jobs for line pipe jump in recent weeks as the Trump administration has talked up fossil fuel production, which is good news for hot-rolled coil producers.

“Simultaneously, you saw plate really start to jump. And scrap started to jump about the same time as there has been a lot of bridge work that’s finally coming – that has been on the docket for quite some time,” Andrew Greiff, president and COO said on the company’s earnings call Friday.

“You’re actually seeing plate start to climb very quickly. That was probably the one area that surprised us the most, to see how fast that really was going,” he added.

Note that major domestic plate producers such as Nucor and SSAB have been rapidly increasing plate prices.

Meanwhile, tariff talk has lengthened lead times, Olympic executives said.

Cold-rolled lead times, for example, are now approximately six to eight weeks. And coated lead times are out as far as eight to 10 weeks. “You saw this immediate rush from transactional players to try to jump in,” Greiff said.

Buyers are trying to get in ahead of March 12. That’s when the Trump administration plans to enact stricter Section 232 tariffs of 25% on imported steel.

“I think we will continue to see an increase (unless) there are some deals that are cut, (or) if something happens … between now and then. But we do expect that we will see prices continue to rise,” Greiff said.

Overall, the Cleveland-based service center saw profits slip by nearly half year over year to $22.9 billion, or $1.97 per share. During the year, the company maintained shipping volumes within 1% of its 2023 levels.

Capital expenditures reached $29.5 million in 2024 and are expected to be $35 million in 2025 as Olympic takes on growth initiatives.

Those projects are expected to come online in late 2025 and early 2026. They include the following, according to Olympic CEO Rick Marabito.

• 1. A new cut-to-length line at Olympic’s Minneapolis coil facility to support its galvanized business
• 2. A new high speed specialty metal slitter to expand capacity at its Berlin Metals subsidiary near Gary, Ind.
• 3. A new white metals cut-to-length line in Schaumburg, Ill.
• 4. The automation of Olympic’s Chambersburg, Pa., fabrication operation