• Skip to main content

    Market Data

    February 8, 2024

    Stricter EPA air-quality standards could hit steel

    Written by Ethan Bernard

    The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced more stringent air quality standards that could impact domestic steel producers.

    “The Biden-Harris administration on Wednesday finalized a significantly stronger air quality standard that will better protect America’s families, workers, and communities from the dangerous and costly health effects of fine particle pollution, also known as soot,” the EPA said in a statement.

    Ethan Bernard

    Ethan Bernard is managing 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.

    Read more from Ethan Bernard

    Latest in Market Data

    US shipments of heating and cooling equipment slow further in August

    Total shipments of heating and cooling equipment cooled further in August, according to the latest figures from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). After falling 11% month on month (m/m) in July, shipments slipped another 10% in August. The monthly pace marks the third-slowest shipment rate year-to-date. Shipments of water heaters, air conditioners, and heat pumps declined m/m, while warm-air furnace shipments picked up. Compared with a year earlier, only air conditioners and heat pumps increased.

    The words "Aluminum Market Update" in white against a dark blue background

    AMU: Edward Meir’s week in review and thoughts for the week of Oct. 12, 2026

    Base metals had a mixed week. Tin lost almost 4% on the week, finishing at $53,000/ton. Prices dropped to a low of $51,259/ton at one point. Aluminum was another loser, off by about 1.6% on the week. Investors are expecting more aluminum supply going forward, especially out of China and Indonesia. Copper prices tacked on 1.1%. They have now recovered more than half of the $700/ton loss sustained (over the course of a week) following reports/rumors in mid-September that US tariffs on refined copper imports might not proceed after all.

    worldsteel expects steady global steel demand in 2026, growth in 2027

    The World Steel Association (worldsteel) forecasts flat steel demand in 2026, as contraction in China and disruption in the Gulf region offset growth in India and other markets, including the US. Global demand is expected to rise slightly in 2027. The Brussels-based association’s Short Range Outlook (SRO) for 2026 pegs global steel demand at 1,722 million metric tons (mt), essentially unchanged from 2025. For 2027, worldsteel forecasts 1.7% growth to 1,752 million mt. “The trajectory we set out in April holds, but the anticipated recovery is proving slower and more gradual than we had expected,” commented Alfonso Hidalgo de Calcerrada, chair of the worldsteel Economics Committee. “Global steel demand is now forecast to be flat in 2026 rather than to grow modestly, and to grow by 1.7% in 2027 rather than 2.2%. Almost the whole of that revision is a China story,” Calcerrada added.