Steel Producer SSAB Says Direct Tariff Impact Has Been Limited So Far — Update

By Dominic Chopping

STOCKHOLM--SSAB said the direct impact of U.S. steel tariffs on the company has so far been limited, as local production accounts for most of its sales on the U.S. market.

However, certain special products, mainly high-strength steel for the automotive industry, are exported from the Nordics, it added.

President Trump set out a 50% tariff on steel imports in June. SSAB said the turbulence triggered by the duties and other trade barriers continued to hurt many of the company's special steels' markets during the quarter.

The company said in July that it would cut production and staffing as many customers adopted a wait-and-see approach amid turbulence triggered by trade barriers and tariffs.

"The third quarter was characterized by a cautious market, partly due to seasonally weak demand," the company said.

"The outlook for the fourth quarter is uncertain, where the market in Europe is normally affected by a certain seasonal slowdown towards the end of the year."

The Swedish steelmaker posted a third-quarter net profit of 1.49 billion Swedish kronor ($158.1 million) from 1.05 billion kronor a year earlier as revenue fell 5.8% to 22.96 billion kronor.

Analysts polled by FactSet had expected net profit of 1.45 billion kronor on sales of 23.5 billion kronor.

Market prices in North America for heavy plate softened somewhat during the quarter and SSAB said it would carry out planned maintenance both in North America and in Europe during the fourth quarter.

Fourth-quarter shipments in special steels are expected to be somewhat lower compared to the previous quarter, with stable prices. SSAB Europe shipments are expected to be higher but with lower prices. For SSAB Americas, both shipments and prices are expected to be somewhat lower.

SSAB said it expects the costs of raw materials for SSAB special steels and SSAB Europe to be somewhat lower in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter, and stable for its SSAB Americas business.

The group's total maintenance costs for the full-year are expected to be 1.53 billion kronor, which is somewhat lower compared to the previous forecast of 1.57 billion kronor, related primarily to SSAB Europe.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2025 02:50 ET (06:50 GMT)