The Week That Was: March 10-14

After over a month of increases, steel prices paused their climb this week for two of the flat-rolled products tracked by SMU. Three of our price indices continued to rise. What is behind the slowdown? Primarily the uncertainty around tariffs. Also, some thought March scrap prices wouldn’t rise as much as initially expected.

Speaking of scrap, several mills are now actively buying after an unusually long wait for the March scrap settlements. Again, tariffs came into play in the delay. According to several sources, Prices are up $20-40 per gross ton, depending on the grade and region, with a few districts slightly less than this.

Of course, tariffs continue to be the major theme.

Earlier in the week, more drama unfolded between Canada and President Trump as the two sides engaged in some economic saber-rattling over levies. Eventually, both sides backed down – at least on that particular issue…

But once Section 232 went into effect mid-week, Canada and the EU struck back against what they say are unjustified tariffs on steel and aluminum. On Thursday, Canada imposed 25% reciprocal tariffs on steel, aluminum, and other goods imported from the US. The EU is considering countermeasures that could be applied to over $28 billion worth of US goods, matching the scope of US tariffs on goods from the EU.

US Customs and Border Protection outlined the changes to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, which went into effect March 12. The updates impact reporting requirements, tariff rates, and country-of-origin rules.

On Friday, Canada’s Algoma Steel resumed shipments to the US after pausing them earlier in the week due to the tariff chaos. The resumption of shipments follows a meeting held between Canadian and US officials in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

SMU also hosted a Community Chat with Alan Price, partner and international trade co-chair at Wiley. Price discussed, what else, tariffs, and the reboot of Section 232 tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum. No quotas. No exceptions. In fact, the tariffs will stretch further downstream than in 2018 and feature an addition process rather than an exemption one. You can check out the full webinar here.

Our colleagues at Aluminum Market Update shared their insights on what tariffs could mean for Midwest premiums and the various scenarios that could shake out. Check out that story here.

But it wasn’t all tariffs.

We also saw some big M&A news as Radius Recycling announced it would be acquired by Toyota Tsusho America in a deal valued at $1.34 billion. Radius is a scrap recycler with 54 facilities in 25 states, Puerto Rico, and western Canada. It also operates Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, an EAF mill in Oregon that produces rebar, merchant bar, and wire rod. It also has 50 Pick-N-Pull used auto parts stores.

And Pacific Steel Group broke ground on its Mojave Micro Mill in Southern California. Once operating at full capacity, the mill will be able to produce ~450,000 short tons of steel rebar.