Most U.S. manufacturers view AI as strategically vital yet remain early in adoption. The barriers are data, cost, integration, workforce, and an underdiscussed security risk that a recent chatbot exploit brought into focus.
Nucor raised hot rolled coil spot prices $10 per ton as a fatal coking coal mine disaster, an oil-driven inflation surge, and historically thin imports stack cost pressure onto a cautious demand backdrop, shaping the buy, wait, or hedge decision for the weeks ahead.
Key Takeaways A February ruling from the nation's highest court wiped out one of the largest sets of duties imposed in 2025, but it left the protections that matter most to domestic mills fully intact, and the administration moved within hours to fill the gap with a different legal vehicle...
A June 1, 2026 proclamation reduced Section 232 tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent on certain heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment, agricultural machinery, and mobile industrial equipment, with the reduced rate running through December 31, 2027. The same proclamation moved in the opposite direction on the supply side, adding aluminum lithographic plates and steel racks to the list of derivative products subject to the duties. Both changes take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on June 8, 2026. For products qualifying under USMCA, the 25 percent rate applies only to non-U.S. content, though total Section 232 exposure cannot fall below 15 percent. The reduced rate reflects pressure around input costs in the farming sector and residential construction markets, while the derivative additions show the administration continuing to expand coverage on a rolling basis even after eliminating the formal inclusion process earlier this spring. Buyers sourcing covered equipment should reprice landed costs ahead of the June 8 effective date and treat the 2027 expiry as a fixed planning horizon.
Marine bunker fuel at major ports has risen 60 to 75 percent since late February, while U.S. East Coast to Turkey scrap export freight is up roughly 50 percent and U.S. retail diesel has climbed nearly 50 percent over the same window. The shock traces to a Brent crude move from 71.32 dollars per barrel in late February to a peak of 138.21 dollars on April 7, a 93 percent jump in under 45 days. The pass-through is now measurable in steel: HMS I 80:20 scrap rose approximately 12 percent to 411.50 dollars per metric ton CFR Turkey ex U.S., and rebar CFR U.S. ex Turkey gained 7.5 percent. Even a domestic 75-mile rebar haul has added an estimated 1.50 dollars per cwt, with total pass-through costs approaching 3 to 4 dollars per cwt. Relief is not expected near term, as full oil production recovery could take four to six months or longer, leaving elevated freight as the likely norm through the back half of 2026 and into 2027. Buyers should factor higher bunker-driven surcharges into CFR import calculations and treat any softening in spot crude as a leading rather than coincident signal.
Nucor-Yamato Steel and Gerdau Long Steel North America have raised prices for C12 and C15 structural beams by $90 per short ton, effective May 26. The increase follows recent industry-wide price moves and comes as beam market pricing remains firm amid uneven construction demand.
The Office of the US Trade Representative has announced that the United States and Mexico will hold three bilateral negotiating rounds ahead of the mandatory July 1, 2026 joint review of the USMCA. The first round takes place May 28–29 in Mexico City, led by Deputy USTR Ambassador Jeff Goettman, focusing on economic security and rules of origin for key industrial goods. The second round is scheduled for June 16–17 in Washington, D.C., covering agriculture and ensuring a level playing field, while the third round will occur the week of July 20 back in Mexico City. These negotiations aim to ensure the USMCA benefits U.S. manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, workers, service suppliers, and businesses of all sizes.
The upcoming review is a critical checkpoint in the trade agreement’s lifecycle, as all three countries must decide by July 1 whether to extend the USMCA for another 16 years or risk entering annual renewal cycles through 2036. Tensions are heightened by the fact that steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico into the United States are currently subject to a 50% Section 232 tariff, making trade conditions a central concern for both nations. This bilateral U.S.–Mexico process runs separately from Canada, though all three parties are conducting domestic consultations ahead of the formal joint review. Negotiators from the United States and Mexico are set to engage in these bilateral talks as part of the collaborative assessment of the United States–Mexico–Canada trade agreement, as announced by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Thursday.
Global crude steel production for the 69 countries tracked by worldsteel fell 1.9 percent year over year in April 2026 to 153.4 million tonnes. The decline was led by weaker output in Asia and Oceania, the Middle East, and the Russia and other CIS plus Ukraine region.
China produced 83.6 million tonnes in April, down 2.8 percent from a year earlier, while India rose 3.9 percent to 13.8 million tonnes and the United States increased 9.4 percent to 7.2 million tonnes. North America as a whole posted a 6.9 percent gain, but the global total still reflected broad pressure across key producing regions.
Worthington Steel has launched a $900 million senior secured notes offering to help fund its pending acquisition of Kloeckner & Co SE. The company said the proceeds, along with a new term loan facility, will cover the purchase price, related shareholder payments, transaction costs, and some existing debt.
The notes are due in 2033 and will be issued through WS Escrow LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Worthington Steel. If the acquisition is not expected to close within three business days, the proceeds will be held in escrow, and if the deal is not completed by March 12, 2027, the notes will be subject to special mandatory redemption.
Production capacity remains elevated at 82.2%, reflecting sustained utilization across U.S. domestic steel mills. Weekly output reached 1,898,000 net tons for the week ending May 16, 2026, and year-to-date production is above last year’s level. The data show consistent district-level activity and ongoing demand that keep mills operating near full capacity.
Nippon Steel will convert U. S. Steel’s Košice plant in Slovakia into a fully owned European subsidiary, renaming it Nippon Steel Slovakia s.r.o., with the move effective October 1 to make the site a core hub for its European operations. The company said the facility will support its regional production footprint as it integrates U. S. Steel assets and pursues planned investments, while conditions at the plant and planned upgrades will be monitored as part of the transition.
Despite higher sales in the 2025–26 fiscal year, Nippon Steel reported lower net profit and warned that geopolitical risks and volatile demand, including Middle East uncertainties that mirror pressures facing U.S. producers, are weighing on results and outlooks. Management said earnings were reduced by one-off impacts and impairment effects tied to transactions and equipment problems, and highlighted that reported earnings excluding certain items were roughly 95% lower in affected periods compared with prior benchmarks.
Manufacturing shed 2,000 jobs in April, a modest pullback after adding 15,000 in March, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by Manufacturing Dive. The biggest losses came from transportation equipment, while the chemical sector posted the largest gain.
U.S. raw steel capacity utilization stood at 81.4 percent for the week ending May 9, 2026, with estimated weekly production of about 1,880,000 net tons, up 1.3 percent from the prior week and roughly 9.3 percent higher than the same week a year earlier. The year-to-date adjusted production through May 9 totaled approximately 33,285,000 net tons at a 78.1 percent utilization rate, which is 6.3 percent above last year and signals stronger output so far in 2026. Production by district showed the Great Lakes and Southern regions leading volumes, and the weekly rise likely reflects modest seasonal restocking in construction and manufacturing supply chains. Analysts caution that sustaining this improvement will depend on end-use demand and any shifts in trade or feedstock costs.
U.S. steel imports rose 5.3% in March 2026 versus February, climbing to about 1.61 million tons and generating roughly $1.6 billion in import value. The increase was driven largely by higher shipments of semi-finished and certain long products, while the share of finished-steel imports held near 16 percent, keeping pressure on domestic mill output. Despite the monthly gain, total volumes remain below year‑ago levels, reflecting continued weakness in some end‑use demand and lingering inventory adjustments across the supply chain. Analysts note the uptick could signal seasonal restocking ahead of spring construction and manufacturing activity, but broader recovery will depend on demand trends and trade policy developments.
Steel Dynamics Inc. will increase metallic coating extras effective the week of July 6, 2026, for galvanized, Galvalume, Galfan, and aluminized type 1 products, citing higher raw material costs. In a customer email the company said zinc has climbed steadily this year, putting LME zinc above $1.50 per pound, while aluminum has now surpassed zinc and the Midwest Aluminum Premium sits at a record $1.14 per pound. SMU’s comparison of the old and new extras shows increases of 10–13% across thicknesses, with an average rise of about 11 percent.
The US Department of Commerce has started anti-dumping (AD) investigations into tin mill products, flat-rolled steel coated with tin or chromium, from China, Taiwan, and Turkey, following petitions from US Steel and the United Steelworkers union. Alleged dumping margins reach up to 1,077% for China, 160% for Taiwan, and 193% for Türkiye, with a parallel countervailing duty (CVD) probe on Chinese imports for subsidies.
The probes cover HTSUS codes like 7210.11.0000 and 7212.10.0000, used mainly for food cans and packaging, amid claims of market injury from rising import volumes and price suppression.
Preliminary decisions are expected by July-September 2026, potentially leading to duties if affirmed by the International Trade Commission.
A federal court on Thursday struck down the Trump administration’s 10 percent global tariffs, ruling 2 to 1 that the president exceeded the authority granted by Congress, with the majority calling the tariffs invalid and unauthorized after a lawsuit by small businesses. The decision follows an earlier Supreme Court loss that rejected broader tariffs, and while one judge argued the law gives the president more flexibility, the ruling applies directly to only a few plaintiffs including the state of Washington and two companies. The administration is expected to appeal, potentially sending the case back through federal courts and possibly to the Supreme Court again. The tariffs had been imposed under a temporary provision of the Trade Act of 1974 and were set to expire in July, while the broader legal fight reflects ongoing limits on presidential power over trade, which the Constitution assigns to Congress. Legal experts say the decision could prompt more businesses to challenge the tariffs and seek refunds, even as the administration pursues new investigations that could lead to future trade restrictions involving major partners and concerns about overproduction and forced labor.
President Donald Trump declared a tariff increase to 25% on all cars and trucks imported from the European Union, effective next week, due to the bloc’s alleged violation of a previous trade pact. This sharp escalation follows a 2025 agreement capping most EU goods tariffs at 15%, with the European Commission promising to defend its members’ interests amid demands for clearer U.S. adherence details. Trump shared the announcement on Truth Social, pointing to EU steel and aluminum tariffs now at an average of 26% as key breaches.
Effective 5/7 this is not yet in place in the federal register.
U.S. Steel, now under Nippon Steel, plans a $1.9 billion investment to build a new direct-reduced iron (DRI) facility at Big River Steel Works in Osceola, Arkansas. This first-of-its-kind U.S. project integrates iron ore from the company’s Minnesota operations directly into steel production, boosting efficiency for the site’s four electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and eliminating DRI shipping needs.
The initiative, accelerated by Nippon Steel’s involvement as part of a broader $11 billion U.S. commitment through 2028, supports around 200 full-time jobs and 35 contractor roles at peak, plus 2,000 construction positions. Expected to start in 2029, it builds on prior investments like the $3 billion Big River 2 expansion, enhancing vertical integration and competitiveness for American-made steel.
Cleveland-Cliffs is integrating Palantir’s enterprise AI platform into its core production planning processes to handle the extraordinary complexity of integrated steelmaking, where multiple variables like raw material inputs, energy consumption, and equipment states must align precisely . The technology enables real-time data integration from across facilities, allowing predictive modeling to anticipate operational constraints such as supply bottlenecks or machinery limitations before they disrupt output . This shift from human-driven Excel-based planning to AI-assisted decision-making aims to optimize scheduling for blast furnaces, rolling mills, and downstream finishing lines, enhancing overall throughput and reducing inefficiencies in high-volume sheet steel production for automotive applications.
In commercial operations, the AI tools streamline order entry and fulfillment by automating workflow coordination between sales, inventory, and manufacturing teams, ensuring faster response times to customer demands for value-added steel products . Palantir’s platform facilitates real-time activity synchronization across Cliffs’ North American footprint, from iron ore mining and pelletizing to ferrous scrap processing and final tubing, minimizing delays in order-to-delivery cycles . Technical specifics include embedding AI for constraint forecasting such as predicting ladle availability or hot metal flow rates and boosting productivity metrics like tons-per-hour yields, positioning the company competitively against global peers.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) voted to keep anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing (CVD) duties in place on non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) from China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan after its five-year sunset review. The decision means the existing trade orders will continue, preserving protections for domestic producers against potentially injurious imports.
These duties, first imposed in December 2014 following investigations into unfairly priced and subsidized imports, target NOES, a grain-oriented steel used in motors, generators, and transformers, with AD rates varying by country and CVD specifically on China and Taiwan. The recent April 29, 2026, affirmative vote in an expedited review (covering investigation nos. 701-TA-506/508 and 731-TA-1238-1243) ensures no revocation, as the USITC found continued dumping would likely harm U.S. producers like Cleveland-Cliffs’ AK Steel unit. This builds on prior continuations in 2020, maintaining market stability amid global trade tensions.
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