Steel Mills
Section 232 Tariffs Challenge AHMSA
Written by Sandy Williams
March 2, 2019
Altos Hornos de Mexico, S.A. (AHMSA), the largest steel producer in Mexico, reported that sales for fourth-quarter 2018 rose 6.5 percent year-over-year to $733.2 million. The improvement was due to stronger product mix and higher steel prices. The average steel sales price was $803 per metric ton.
Adjusted EBITDA was $7.0 million, an 85.2 percent decline from $47 million in the prior fourth quarter. Excluding the effect of the tariffs pertaining to Section 232, EBITDA was $27.2 million, a 24 percent decline year-over-year.
Shipments fell 8.5 percent from Q4 2018 to 905,000 metric tons. U.S. Section 232 steel tariffs had a significant impact on quarterly sales and volumes, said AHMSA Chairman Alonso Ancira Elizondo.
“This year, which should have been one of the best for AHMSA, was strongly affected by the U.S.’s application of Section 232 tariffs to Mexico, which directly and indirectly affected 28 percent of our sales in the last quarter. This event had a strong impact on the volumes and sales prices for the domestic industry as well as for AHMSA,” said Elizondo.
“Despite the challenges discussed above, we had better results than expected during the year, with a significant improvement of 245 percent in operating income mainly due to the increase in international steel prices.”
Elizondo said renewed safeguard duties of 15 percent on steel imports and the potential for complete or partial termination of Section 232 tariffs should result in greater sales volume and lower costs in 2019.
AHMSA is also strengthening its higher value-added steel mix and has reopened the Conchas Sur mine to secure its own supply of metallurgical coal. Repairs are under way on 35 coke ovens at the #1 coking battery, which is expected to increase coke capacity at the plant by approximately 177,000 MT.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
Atlas completes Evraz NA deal, renames firm, and hires former USS exec as CEO
Atlas Holdings has completed its acquisition of Evraz North America (Evraz NA) and its subsidiaries.
ArcelorMittal: As tariffs slow global growth, Calvert could be a bright spot
ArcelorMittal expects less demand growth across most of the markets it operates in, including the US, because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. But the Luxembourg-based steelmaker also thinks it stands to benefit from an increasingly regionalized world thanks to investments like the new EAF at its mill in Calvert, Ala.
Ternium posts solid Q2, expects further shipment growth
Latin American steel producer Ternium delivered a solid performance in the second quarter of 2025. Performance was driven primarily by higher realized steel prices in Mexico, even as shipment volumes declined slightly across its regional portfolio.
Algoma swings to loss on ‘unprecedented disruptions’ and trade barriers
Canada’s Algoma Steel saw a sharp loss in the second quarter amid a continued challenging market environment and “tariff uncertainties.”
Nucor eyes long-term gains amid strong demand and trade enforcement
Resilient demand across its steel product lines, combined with the continued ramp-up of key expansion projects, drove Nucor’s improved financial results and record-setting performance in the second quarter. That’s according to company executives speaking on an earnings conference call on Tuesday.