MEPS International’s latest Market in Minutes podcast heard that steel demand was “nowhere near” US market participants’ earlier expectations, during August.

US steel market analyst, Laura Hodges, drew on research conducted for MEPS’s International Steel Review to summarise the nation’s steel market, its key price trends and outlook in the new 12-minute episode.

Hodges said that steel supply was plentiful, with domestic steelmakers’ utilisation rates were trending close to 80% and imports remaining above two million tonnes per month, despite 50% Section 232 steel tariffs.

However, speaking to MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe, she added: “You get the sense, speaking to MEPS research partners, that demand is just ‘okay’ and certainly not anywhere near where they thought it would be at the start the year.”

MEPS’s Internationals Steel Review recorded prices down for all flat steel products, in the US, during August. A less negative trend was recorded for flat products. Despite the recent decline, Hodges said that prices are likely to trend low during the remainder of 2025."