Stelco cites foreign imports, 58% plunge in U.S. steel exports to defend layoffs
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OTTAWA — Stelco Inc. says Canadian exports of cold-rolled and coated steel to the United States have plunged 58 per cent compared with pre-trade-war levels, while continued foreign imports put pressure on domestic producers.
In a seven-page letter to Canada’s industry minister obtained by The Canadian Press, Stelco president Paul Simon says Canadian exports of those steel products to the United States fell by 226,000 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the 2024 quarterly average.
At the same time, he says imports accounted for 45 per cent of market share for those products, despite Ottawa’s efforts to protect the industry by restricting steel imports.
Simon says a combination of declining exports to the United States, weaker domestic demand and continued foreign steel imports has shrunk the market for products made at Stelco’s Hamilton Works by more than one million tonnes annually — roughly twice the plant’s historical annual production of cold-rolled and coated steel.
