Shipping and Logistics
June 18, 2018
Steel Port Warns of Tariff Consequences
Written by Sandy Williams
The Port of New Orleans is one of the top three U.S. ports for steel imports, taking in 2.48 million tons of steel in 2017. Steel imports represented 80 percent of the port’s breakbulk tonnage and 30 percent of its total cargo tonnage. Turkey was the largest importer of steel at the Port NOLA last year with 344,745 tons followed by Japan (334,561 tons), Brazil (214,270 tons), China-Taiwan (185,406 tons), Vietnam (182,849 tons), South Korea (177,300 tons), Russia (141,725 tons), and China (127,228 tons). All of these trade partners are subject to Section 232 tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, except for Brazil and South Korea, which have agreed to quotas.
As a major port for steel and aluminum (1.052 million tons last year), the Section 232 tariffs are expected to have a significant impact on port and river commerce. Steel imports from the Gulf travel north by barge and return full of agricultural products designated for export. With steel and aluminum tariffs impacting tonnage shipped, and retaliatory tariffs by allies on agricultural commodities, Port NOLA expects a ripple effect that could reduce barge traffic, increase shipping charges, and push commodity prices higher.
