Local Businesses Affected By Imported Steel Tariff
A recently imposed tariff on imported steel and aluminum has some local steel suppliers feeling the crunch, but you may be surprised to find out it’s also impacting local businesses.
Although the tariff targets imported steel and aluminum, Cody Helms with Alabama Steel Supply explains why they’ve seen prices of domestic steel increase as much as 25% since March.
“When the president put the steel tariffs on import steel it gave the domestic mills an opportunity to raise their prices” he said “which have been suppressed for several years and by doing that, it raised the price across the board”.
The supplier says the biggest impact has been on the price of sheet metal, but one local business says they are feeling the crunch in other ways.
Worth Cleaners on Vaughn Road in Montgomery is asking their customers to help offset some of their costs, by dropping off their metal hangers to recycle. An employee says the signs have been posted at all 3 of their locations since the beginning of the week, and that many customers have started to drop of their hangers for recycling.
The light at the end of the tunnel Helms says, is that he doesn’t think the higher prices will last much longer. “We’re thinking that it will be July to August before you see prices stabilize” he explained.
The metals tariffs went into effect on March 23rd although Trump gave several countries including Australia, Canada, Mexico and the 28 nations in the European Union – temporary waivers.
