Sheet
March 14, 2025
Written by David Schollaert
US cold-rolled (CR) coil prices saw another increase this week, a trend mirrored by offshore prices.
But fully restored Section 232 tariffs on steel on March 12 cut the widening premium US prices had over most imports on a landed basis. A clear shift after the price spread between stateside-produced CR and imports had reached a 14-month high last week.
Sheet and plate prices continued to inch higher on a combination of scarce spot tons, long lead times, lean inventories, and stable demand.
U.S. Steel is investing $28.3 million in its Great Lakes Works in Michigan, with upgrades planned for its pickle line during a 30-day outage starting in October.
The result comes after Mexico’s Ministry of Economy completed a five-year sunset review of the anti-dumping duty (AD) order on imports of hot-rolled (HR) sheet from Russia and Ukraine.
Stelco Holdings Inc. is indefinitely idling its finishing operations in Hamilton, Ontario. The Canadian steelmaker, a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs, will concentrate steel production at its Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ontario, a Cliffs spokesperson told SMU.
US steel industry groups representing most of domestic steel production are urging the Trump administration to tighten trade measures on steel imports from South Korea. They are seeking a South Korea-specific tariff-rate quota (TRQ) and an investigation into a reported import surge.