Price of steel

In 2025, US steel prices experienced marked changes because of the implementation of new tariffs on imports, causing a 2.4% year-over-year price increase to 298.3. These tariffs aimed to foster domestic manufacturing by making foreign steel less competitively priced in the US market, resulting in a short-term surge in domestic steel prices. Meanwhile, ongoing trade negotiations, including a significant non-binding agreement with the UK that reduced tariffs from 50.0% to 25.0%, provided avenues for potential future price stabilization. This agreement signified economic relief amid fluctuating market conditions, as it somewhat alleviated the cost pressures faced by domestic industries reliant on steel imports. These tariff alterations, combined with rising input costs and broader economic factors, played a pivotal role in shaping the steel price landscape throughout 2025. Also, the anticipated increase in domestic infrastructure projects added complexity to the supply-demand dynamics influencing the steel market during this time.

From 2020 to 2025, the steel industry experienced substantial shifts. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused severe demand drops as global construction, an essential consumer of steel, slowed significantly. Steel demand diminished as construction sites around the world halted or reduced operations, leading to a short-term reduction in steel prices. By 2021, however, a robust post-pandemic recovery took hold. Steel prices rebounded sharply due to a rapid increase in demand from downstream markets, reversing the previous year's trends. The termination of Section 232 tariffs in October 2021 influenced the market by allowing increased steel imports amid a global production capacity surplus. Geopolitical tensions, most notably the Ukraine-Russia conflict in 2022, disrupted steel supply chains globally, placing additional upward pressure on prices. Rising energy costs and logistical challenges exacerbated these price pressures. Even so, by 2023, there was some relief as supply chain constraints began to ease, resulting in a slight price decline. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), introduced toward the end of this period, increased demand for steel as it mandated the use of domestically sourced materials for large-scale infrastructure projects. This act drove up demand and contributed to price increases because of the infrastructural needs for roads, water systems and transportation facilities. Despite the fluctuating market conditions, the steel industry managed to navigate these challenges, achieving a CAGR of 10.1% over this period.