Algoma CEO forges new path against tariff headwinds

Algoma Steel’s CEO struck a defiant tone in the face of the continued impact from US steel tariffs.

“I want to be direct about something. Algoma is more exposed to tariffs than virtually any steel company in North America,” Algoma CEO Rajat Marwah said on a Q1’26 earnings call Wednesday.

He noted the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based company is Canada’s only independent steelmaker, and the trade disruption for the company by US Section 232 steel tariffs has been real.

“We are not going to understate that impact nor are we going to minimize the challenge it has created,” he said. “But this is what we would ask investors to focus on: The investments Algoma has made in a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace platform and the modernization of Canada’s only discrete plate mill have positioned the company at the center of Canada’s emerging industrial and defense strategy.”

JVs part of new strategy

Beyond the complete switch to EAF steelmaking in the first quarter, Marwah highlighted two initiatives with other companies as positive developments.

In April, Algoma and Canada’s Roshel Inc. partnered to form Roshel Algoma Defence (RADS), a sovereign ballistic steel solutions joint venture.

Also, in January, Algoma signed a binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean that includes up to US$250 million in potential value tied to structural steel development and submarine-program supply.

Marwah said these projects are not “peripheral initiatives or aspirational concepts. They are tangible evidence of where industrial policies and strategic demands are moving.”

He continued that Canada is seeking to reduce reliance on foreign supply chain for critical material and defense-grade products, and Algoma is participating directly in that effort.

Though the current tariff environment has been challenging, it “has accelerated the urgency around domestic sourcing and industrial self-sufficiency.”

While the company manages tariff headwinds, Marwah noted Algoma is “building the company Canada increasingly needs.”

He concluded: “Those are not competing narratives, they are fundamentally the same story.”

Earnings woes

As previously reported, Algoma swung to a wider net loss of CAD59.4 million (USD$116.1 million) in the first quarter vs. a year ago. As part of its strategy, the company is now targeting plate production, being the country’s only producer of discrete plate.

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.