Market Data
April 22, 2026
Steel Market Chatter: Survey says tariff policies helping some
Written by Kristen DiLandro
According to the latest findings from SMU’s survey, more respondents answered that President Trump’s tariff policies have been helpful to their businesses than in the prior survey.
Unlike during the week of April 6, when no survey respondents said the Trump tariffs were helping business, the week of April 20 found that nearly a quarter of respondents said the tariffs are helping their businesses (23.5%).
Note, however, that most respondents either don’t believe the tariffs are helpful or are not sure yet.
Below, we are sharing a selection of the individual comments we received, in each buyer’s own words.
Contact smu@crugroup.com to be included in our market questionnaires.
How do you expect prices to trend over the next three months, and why?
“Aggressively higher due to tight supply.”
“Slightly up.”
“Stable.”
“Stabilize.”
“I expect prices to continue to trend up at the same pace they have been since the fourth quarter of last year. End-use demand is good enough, inventories are low, and supply is limited. The mills are in the driver’s seat.”
“Increase with demand.”
“We believe pricing will continue to inch upward until mid-May and then we’ll see a plateau followed by a fall (due to Spring Outages being over, “Summer Doldrums,” and imports coming in).”
“Plate up.”
“Flat out.”
“Flat to down some.”
“Continue to climb slowly.”
“I think Middle East fears will continue to cause prices to increase slightly but there will be a limit. Barring something dramatic happening, pricing will peak by the end of June.”
“I expect continued increases through June. Tariffs and maintenance at the mills will push prices upward.”
“Pricing will remain elevated due to raw materials and logistics costs rising.”
Is demand improving, declining, or stable, and why?
More than half of respondents (~53%) answered simply that demand is stable with no further explanation.
Of the remaining 47% of respondents, here are a few responses.
“Improving, mostly due to the seasonality of our products.”
“Demand seems OK. Not great and not awful, just ‘OK.’ The West Coast is pretty depressed, though, compared to other regions.”
“Plate improvements.”
“It appears that we peaked about three weeks ago. Currently running at 70% of those levels.”
Are imports more attractive vs. domestic material? Why or why not?
“Imports are attractive, but still not willing to place orders with 3-to-4-month lead times.”
“Imports are always more attractive.”
“For sure. Lead times aren’t as scary, and pricing is there now. I think most buyers have import tons en route.”
“Only on light-gauge painted.”
“Imports are becoming more attractive.”
“Only for certain grades.”
“No. Lead times are too long. Price isn’t as favorable as it was.”
“No, due to higher landed costs due to logistics cost and tariff implications.”
“I do not purchase imports.”
“Plate not attractive.”
“Not attractive due to domestic customer requirements.”
“No, I only buy American.”
Do you have any recent import offers or transactions to report on either sheet or plate?
Not a single respondent said they have any recent import offers or transactions for either product.
What’s something that’s going on in the market that nobody is talking about?
“Buyers are paying too much attention to price when they should be thinking about Q3 availability.”
“Rebuilding the war machine.”
“Auto seems pretty depressed still. Will 2027 be any better?”
“Huge pipeline projects approved for 2026-2027-2028.”
“The recent Section 232 changes.”
“DFI pipe and mill is now for sale.”
