Service Centers

Reliance logs another record for Q2 tons sold

July 24, 2025

Second quarter ended June 30	2025	2024	% Change
Net sales	$3,659.8	$3,643.3	0.5%
Net earnings (loss)	$233.7	$267.8	-12.7%
Per diluted share	$4.42	$4.67	-5.4%

(in millions of dollars except per share)

Reliance Inc. reported record second-quarter tonnages, with 1.62 million tons sold in the second quarter of 2025, a 4% increase year over year (y/y).

However, tons sold were down 0.9% compared to Q1, in line with the company’s lower end expectations. It’s also a 0.4% decrease on a same-store basis, the service center giant reported Wednesday.

The company said the slight sequential decline resulted from pricing fluctuations during the quarter, driven by tariff momentum, which “peaked in April, then declined for the remainder of the quarter.”

“Our solid results once again demonstrate the resilience of our proven business model in a volatile environment,” President and CEO Karla Lewis said in a statement.

“Our record second-quarter tons sold once again significantly outperformed the industry due to our unparalleled scale, access to domestic metal and breadth of processing capabilities,” she added.

Demand for non-residential construction, Reliance’s largest end-market by tons, improved compared to Q2’24. The company expects construction demand to remain “at healthy levels” in Q3’25, supported by new construction projects such as data centers, energy infrastructure, manufacturing, and public infrastructure.

Demand across broader manufacturing sectors increased compared to Q2’24, led by strength in industrial machinery, military, shipbuilding, rail, and heavy construction equipment.

Reliance expects manufacturing demand to remain relatively stable in Q3’25, subject to any potential trade policy actions.

Outlook

Reliance estimates its tons sold in Q3’25 will be down 1% to 3% from Q2’25, but up y/y. It expects its average selling price per ton sold for Q3’25 to be between -1% and +1% compared to the second quarter.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.