Trump tariffs help AK Steel ramp up prices more than CEO expected
At AK Steel, President Trump's tariffs on metals imports boosted prices this spring even more than Chief Executive Officer Roger Newport predicted.
The West Chester, Ohio-based company said Monday that it was able to charge $1,101 per ton of flat-rolled steel in the three months through June, a 5 percent increase from the beginning of 2018. Newport, who has praised the White House's move to protect the U.S. steel industry, had told investors in April that prices would rise to at least $1,075 per ton.
Total revenue, meanwhile, climbed 12 percent to $1.75 billion as the producer joined rivals including Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor benefiting from one of Trump's initial forays into protectionism. Escalating tariffs against both allies and competitors in the months since have left the U.S. at odds with a number of other nations and prompted significant retaliation that economists and some Republican lawmakers say could undermine the benefits from last year's tax cuts.
