Shabby steel prices are likely to improve after this week's U.S. election, says Michael Garcia, president and chief executive officer of Algoma Steel.
"We are optimistic that post-election, steel prices will gain ground," Garcia told a Thursday-morning conference call with investors.
"We applaud Canada's recent imposition of tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, as it aligns Canadian trade policy more closely with the United States, fostering a unified North American approach that strengthens the regional steel market by mitigating competition from unfairly traded overseas imports," Garcia said.
The Algoma Steel boss said demand and pricing of the North American steel market was depressed during the run-up to the U.S. election, contributing to overall economic uncertainty.
"During the past quarter, index pricing touched year-to-date lows in the mid-600s. While we saw some modest price improvement, it again moved lower and has traded sideways over the past few weeks, potentially a reflection of market participants sitting on the sidelines awaiting a result from the U.S. election.
"In the near term, we do expect that current prices will continue to generate headwinds on our earnings performance, on account of our lagging contract order book.
"As we wait for these headwinds to abate, we will continue to focus on what we can control, operating our facilities safely, servicing our customers and positioning ourselves to best capture market opportunities as they arise, all while executing the completion of construction and commissioning of the electric arc furnaces," Garcia said.
"It's no exaggeration to say that in the 120-plus-year history of Algoma, we are in the most exciting phase of our existence, transitioning from traditional blast furnace steel production to being one of North America's greenest producers of steel.
"This is further supported by recent modernization investments across the steel works, including Canada's only discrete plate production facility.
"We will significantly expand our production capacity, dramatically improve our environmental footprint, energize the local economy and unlock tremendous value for all of our stakeholders," he said.
"I'm proud of what the team has accomplished: their dedication to safety and their focus on enhancing every aspect of our operations. The last several years have been busy ones in Sault Ste. Marie, and we are truly excited for what the future holds."
Last night, the Sault steelmaker announced a net loss of $106.6 million during its 2025 fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to a profit of $31.1 million during the same period last year.
It also announced that it's changing its fiscal year.
