Analysis
June 23, 2026
Written by Ethan Bernard
The way we deliver Final Thoughts is updating on Friday. This made me take a walk down memory lane to one of the first Final Thoughts I wrote at SMU back in February 2023.
It’s a testament to how different the trade landscape looks today. However, there were cracks long before Donald J. Trump started his second term and announced “Liberation Day” last year.
Domestic raw steel output fell to a six-month low last week after hitting a multi-year high one week earlier, according to the latest American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures.
The domestic plate market is showing few signs of relief for steel buyers. Lead times are stretching well beyond seasonal norms, spot availability has all but evaporated, and mills are drawing hard lines on contract volumes heading into 2027 negotiations.
SSAB Americas announced immediate changes to pricing extras on select products, according to a letter sent to customers Friday morning.
Kibar Americas said production has started at its aluminum plant in Fairmont, W.Va., where it will manufacture products for the HVAC, packaging, automotive and industrial sectors.
The phrase “Fortress North America” seems to resurface anytime US, Canada, and Mexico trade negotiations roll around. The idea of an economic Fortress North America burst onto the scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the lead up to NAFTA. In theory...