USA News July 24, 2025: Q2 Transcript Takeaways on Steel Pricing, Demand…and (of course) Tariffs

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There was a flurry of second-quarter earnings reports this week from big steel buyers and suppliers alike. Among them: Steel Dynamics, Cleveland-Cliffs, General Motors, Reliance and Valmont Industries. What follows are some key transcript takeaways from their respective earnings calls with analysts on steel pricing, the demand environment and impact of tariffs.

Valmont Industries, which is heavily vested in the infrastructure space as a manufacturer of steel utility poles, linear irrigation equipment, windmill support structures, lighting/traffic poles and more, reported that steel pricing is stable, “which is very encouraging for us,” according to Thomas Liguori, Valmont EVP and CFO.

Regarding steel tariffs, he said: “We are using primarily U.S. poured and melted steel and therefore, we feel in a good position.” As for tariffs in general, he added: “We keep the term profit neutral, and that’s what we see right now. That’s primarily because we have 24 plants in the U.S. serving our U.S. customers. But I also want to say our team managed it very, very well… it was about changing our supply chain, changing sourcing, making more things in the U.S. So steel, we feel very good about where it is today.”

Touching on end-market demand, Avner Applbaum, Valmont’s CEO, president and director noted that sales grew modestly, “driven by strength in Utility, Telecom and International Agriculture.” He added: “We remain deeply confident in the end markets we serve, which are supported by powerful long-term growth drivers. Secular megatrends, including the energy transition, infrastructure investment and global demand for food security, offer significant potential for our business.”

SDI’s Barry Schneider, president & COO, said on his company’s call, that underlying steel demand remains steady. “However, customers continue to exercise caution in placing orders due to ongoing uncertainty related to trade policies and interest rates,” he added. “That said, we believe steel prices have stabilized in the near term with potential for upward movement in the future.”

Schneider said that SDI’s realized steel pricing increased throughout its product portfolio in the second quarter. “And just last week, long products saw additional price improvement. Overall, domestic steel inventories remain lean from a historical basis.”

But he noted that coated flat-rolled steel volume and pricing compressed during the quarter “due to an inventory overhang related to imports that were received just ahead of the final ruling related to the associated industry trade case.”

Schneider explained that last fall, SDI and other industry participants initiated a trade case related to these products and have since received favorable preliminary countervailing and antidumping rulings. “We anticipate final rulings to be determined before the end of September,” he said. “This uniquely positions us as we are the largest producer of non-automotive coated flat-rolled steel products in North America. Together with the announced Section 232 steel tariffs, these developments are expected to positively impact demand for lower carbon emission U.S.-produced steel.”

Regarding the steel market environment, Schneider said North American automotive production estimates for 2025 were recently revised modestly downward, “reflecting ongoing uncertainty related to trade discussions.” He added: “Fortunately, our specific automotive customer base has not only remained stable but has provided opportunities for growth. We have become a supplier of choice for many U.S.-based European and Asian automotive producers due to our current and planned future superior carbon content capabilities.” 

Non-residential construction remains stable despite broader predictions of a potential slowdown, according to Schneider. “So far this year, construction sector employment and spending have been stable. Pricing for most long products has generally improved, supported by strong backlogs,” he said.

In the energy sector, oil and gas activity remains steady with encouraging signs of increased demand for both flat-rolled and SBQ products heading into the third quarter, according to Schneider. Additionally, solar was described as “particularly strong” currently as producers attempt to benefit from expiring incentives. 

“Overall, we remain extremely optimistic concerning steel demand and pricing dynamics for the domestic producers in the coming years based on the expected demand from new manufacturing and U.S. produced steel content requirements,” Schneider said.

Elaborating on that point, SDI’s Chairman and CEO Mark Millett said: “We do believe that tariffs will be a mainstay of the trade agreements going forward. I think the — when you look at the first time of the administration, the renegotiation of NAFTA into the USMCA was an incredible advance on that relationship between Canada, Mexico and ourselves. The increased domestic content and other things in that really, really has helped the U.S., but even more importantly, North America as a whole. The USMCA is up for renegotiation again in 2026. And it’s our belief that the tariff discussions and the trade policy discussions that have gone on between the three countries are a prelude to that.”

Millett expressed confidence that the USMCA will get renegotiated into an even better solution for the U.S. principally in “preventing and melted language in the supply agreement such that it will prevent the leakage of Chinese and Asian and other trading through Canada and coming through Mexico into the states. So, I think net-net, I don’t believe you see the levels as is today. But I think it’s all going to lead to a much better trade environment going forward for the long term.”

Also, on the subject of tariffs and trade, GM’s Paul Jacobson, EVP and CFO said on the big carmaker’s call that the environment remains dynamic. “The second quarter net impact of $1.1 billion was slightly lower than we had expected due to the timing of certain indirect tariff costs. As a result, we will likely see third quarter net tariff costs higher than in the second quarter.”

Jacobson added: “For the full year, while there have been some puts and takes since we gave our initial guidance, our gross tariff impact remains unchanged at $4 billion to $5 billion this year as we continue to produce and import vehicles from Canada, Mexico and Korea to avoid interruptions for our customers and dealers. Over time, we remain confident that our total tariff expense will come down as bilateral trade deals emerge, and our sourcing and production adjustments are implemented.”

Jacobson reiterated that GM is “making solid progress on our mitigation efforts and remain on track to offset at least 30% of this impact with roughly one-third coming from each of our key actions, manufacturing adjustments, targeted cost initiatives and consistent pricing.”

Major North American service center, Reliance reported its tons sold in the second quarter of 2025 were a record and increased 4% year-over-year, reflecting continued market share gains. Compared to the first quarter of 2025, however, tons sold declined 0.9%. Reliance’s average selling price per ton sold surpassed expectations, increasing 6.1% compared to the first quarter of 2025.

Reliance pointed to strong “tariff-driven momentum” of both demand and pricing near the end of the first quarter, which led to pricing for many products to peak in April, but then decline for the remainder of the quarter. “Pricing for most products, however, is at relatively steady levels entering the third quarter with potential upside for aluminum and stainless steel products,” Reliance noted.

“While we anticipate some weakness in the third quarter, we remain confident in our ability to continue to outperform the industry and take advantage of improved demand and pricing environments as we emerge from these highly uncertain times,” said Karla Lewis, president and CEO of Reliance. She emphasized that Reliance’s “long-time practice of primarily sourcing domestic metals and operating in the United States” affords it a strong competitive advantage in the current uncertain trade environment. 

Commenting on end-markets, compared to the second quarter of 2024, Reliance said its increase in tons sold surpassed the industry-wide decline of 3.1% reported by the Metals Service Center Institute by over 7 percentage points.

Demand for non-residential construction (including infrastructure), Reliance’s largest end market by tons, improved from the second quarter of 2024. The company expects non-residential construction demand to remain at healthy levels in the third quarter of 2025, supported by continued new construction projects across diverse sectors including data centers, energy infrastructure, manufacturing, and public infrastructure.

Demand across several broader manufacturing sectors Reliance serves increased compared to the second quarter of 2024. These include industrial machinery, military, consumer products, heavy equipment for agriculture and construction, shipbuilding and rail, among others. “Reliance anticipates that demand for its products across the broader manufacturing sector will experience a customary seasonal slowdown in the third quarter of 2025,” the company said.

Aerospace demand was stable compared to Q2 2024, and mildly weaker commercial aerospace demand is expected in the third quarter of 2025, due to excess supply chain inventory. Demand in the military-and space-related portions of Reliance’s aerospace business is expected to remain consistent at strong levels in the third quarter of 2025.

Toll processing Reliance provides to the automotive market was stable compared to the second quarter of 2024, and it’s seen remaining stable in the third quarter of 2025, “subject to significant uncertainty about North American trade policy.”