The process to reduce Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs for producers in Mexico and Canada garnered mixed reactions from steel and metals’ supply chain advocacy groups.
Multiple risks continue to cloud the automotive outlook, including semiconductor shortages, tariff uncertainty, weaker demand, policy changes, geopolitical disruption, the war in Iran, supply-chain shocks, protectionism, cost pressures, and intensifying competition.
Following the historical lows seen in recent months, steel import volumes marginally increased in March and April.
The current rally in sheet prices has lasted more than seven months, something without recent precedent. Unless your definition of recent includes the snapback in demand following the pandemic.
Ternium expects steel demand in Mexico to keep improving through the second quarter as destocking fades and new industrial policies take hold.
A weekly guest column that examines North American steel issues leading up to the USMCA periodic review in July.
The export market on the North American East Coast has been firming after seeing a sale that climbed to $415.50 per metric ton (mt) CFR for HMS 85/15.
Ternium SA’s profits more than doubled in the first quarter as work continues to advance at its industrial center in Pesqueria, Mexico.
AISI, SMA, and the Canadian Steel Producers Association will each publish a monthly column in the lead-up to the USMCA periodic review.
ArcelorMittal’s North American operations posted higher sales results sequentially and year over year (y/y) in its Q1 earnings report. The North American segment of the Luxembourg-based steelmaker reported 8.3% higher sales in Q1’26 compared with the previous quarter. The steelmaker credits higher average selling prices, up 3.5% from Q4, and a jump in steel shipments, up 5.2%.
Mexico’s federal government and the country’s national steel chamber, Canacero, signed a new Agreement for the Promotion of the Mexican Steel Industry. This positions the steel sector as a core pillar of the national Plan Mexico industrial strategy.
World crude steel production for the 69 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel) totaled an estimated 159.9 million metric tons in March. Production jumped 12.8% from a shorter February, but was down 4.0% from March 2025, according to newly released data.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said rules of origin will be a major focus of upcoming USMCA review talks.
Over the past few years, the slab market has changed significantly – Iran filled the position previously occupied by Ukraine before the war, Brazilian merchant slab supply fell, and the introduction of CBAM drew more interest into slab imports to the EU.
US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer said Mexico should not expect the upcoming USMCA review to result in the removal of US steel and aluminum tariffs, according to media reports.
Core to the negotiations will be the need for a fundamental rebalancing of the relationship between the United States, Mexico, and Canada - especially when it comes to the steel and autos supply chain.
Thyssenkrupp Materials Services announced its majority stake acquisition of Aceroteca Trading, S.A.P.I. de C.V. in Santa Catarina, Nuevo León, Mexico.
US steel exports held steady from January to February and remain near historical lows.
Global steel demand is stabilizing and poised for a gradual recovery through 2027, with North America expected to post solid, policy-supported gains, according to the World Steel Association’s latest Short Range Outlook.
Remember the “Got Milk?” advertising campaign of the 1990s. Maybe we should start a “Got Steel?” campaign. Or maybe “Got Spot Tons?” would be more accurate, if less catchy.
Steel imports remain near some of the lowest volumes recorded in over five years.
Domestic steel trade groups think real action could occur with the US chairing the Global Forum on Excess Steel Capacity this year at the OECD. .
We just wrapped up another Steel 101 workshop. But this time, we had the privilege to take the most hands-on industry workshop on steelmaking and market fundamentals abroad.
Mexico’s Ministry of Economy issued a preliminary ruling in its anti-dumping case on hot-rolled steel from China and Vietnam. The government found evidence of price discrimination and imposed provisional duties on a wide range of hot-rolled flat products, including coils, sheet, strip, and plate.
When nations eye their trade policy these days, are they only seeing tariffs? It might seem that way, especially after reading a presidential executive order or five over the last year. But is the condition spreading?
US steel exports jumped 33% in January but remain historically low, according to recently released US Department of Commerce data.
Mexican steel trade group Canacero has elected TenarisTamsa’s Sergio de la Maza Jiménez as its new president of the board of directors for 2026-27.
An administrative review of the anti-dumping duty (AD) order on heavy-walled rectangular pipe and tube from Mexico has found evidence of continued dumping by Mexican companies.
Serviacero USA is set to establish its first US manufacturing operation after purchasing a rail-served site at the Gulf Inland Logistics Park in Houston.
Mexico’s Secretary of Economy is conducting ‘Operation Clean-Up,” inspecting suspicious steel companies to verify compliance with rules of origin.