Steel prices in США reached a four-year high due to the impact of Trump tariffs
США’s steel prices have risen to the highest level in more than four years as Дональда Трампа’s president’s duties limit shipments from abroad. This supports U.S. manufacturers, but at the same time raises costs for the country’s industrial enterprises.
According to Bloomberg, according to Fastmarkets, the price of hot-rolled rolled steel - a common type of steel that is a benchmark for the American market - has been growing steadily over the past year. It rose by 52%, to 1255 dollars for a short ton. Last time prices reached this level in May 2022.
США More steel is imported than exported, but this year the volume of foreign supplies has declined sharply. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, during the first nine months 2026 the Import of Finished Steel Products 14% - approximately 13 million tons.
As a result, the share of imported steel in the domestic market decreased to 16% against 19% for the same period last year.
It is expected that at the end of the year, the supply of steel inside США will become even more limited, as metallurgical plants will reduce production for scheduled maintenance. According to Fastmarkets, in the period from September to December, this will affect the production of more than 1 million tons of steel.
Buyers should expect further price increases, analysts believe, because prices for scrap metal - an important raw material for steel production - are already growing, and earlier than usual at the end of the year.
Negotiations between manufacturers and customers on contracts for 2027 year so far are in favor of metallurgical enterprises, and discounts are likely to be smaller than in previous years.
U.S. steelmakers, including Nucor Corp., Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and Steel Dynamics Inc., benefit from higher domestic prices and reduced competition from foreign suppliers. Акції Nucor, the largest steel producer in the country, has risen in price by more than 50% this year.
American hot-rolled rolled steel is usually the most expensive in the world, and the difference between its price and prices in international markets continues to increase. Now it costs about two-thirds more than in Europe, and almost three times more than in China. Despite the resistance of trade partners, China continues to export steel almost record volumes.
50Trump's interest duties on imported steel have disrupted trade ties with Canadian manufacturers. Last month, Cleveland-Cliffs, one of the largest steel companies СШАsaid that for an indefinite period will suspend the operation of part of the capacity of its Canadian subsidiary Stelco. This may affect jobs up to 500 employees.
This decision caused a conflict with the Canadian government, which threatened the court against Cleveland-Cliffs. The reason was the employment obligations undertaken by the company during the acquisition of Stelco in 2024 for 3,4 billion Canadian dollars (2,4 billion dollars США).
- In August, 25 states filed a joint lawsuit with the США International Trade Court demanding to abolish the new Дональда Трампа customs tariffs and arrange for reimbursement to those importers who have already paid part of the goods' value.
- Later it became known that the administration of the American president after the decision of the Supreme Court США on the recognition of customs tariffs "Дня звільнення Америки" illegally returned to importers already 100 billion dollars.
