Steel Products Prices North America
February 15, 2015
Port of Tampa Steel Conference Debates Foreign Steel Imports & Regulation
Written by John Packard
Phillip Bell, President of the Steel Manufacturers Association (steel mills) told those assembled at the 26th annual Port of Tampa Steel Conference, “There is a growing consensus that something just isn’t right.” What he was referring to was the domestic steel mills running at 75 percent capacity utilization rates and the industry still suffering due to most of the growth in the industry being taken by foreign competition.
Bell reported steel imports as being up 85 percent in January and 38 percent for calendar year 2014 (versus 2013). He told the group that foreign imports controlled 28 percent of the total USA market in 2014.
