April marks the beginning of the second quarter of 2025, with oil pricing, as of this writing, at $67.05/barrel for WTI and Brent at $70.37/barrel. Pricing has steadied after choppy trading sessions fueled by tariff uncertainty and OPEC+ price hike plans.
“The OPEC news of adding barrels in April, along with a Russian/Ukraine peace deal now looking more promising and a flip/flop of tariffs is keeping crude in a volatile trade,” says Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of oil trading at BOK Financial.
Effective March 12 (12:01 a.m. EDT), steel and some derivative steel imports from all countries will be subject to an additional 25% tariff; China will be assessed an additional 10%. It is noted that the Federal Register does not mention Turkey or a 50% additional duty for Turkey.
Mexico and Canada have, as of this writing, an exclusion for auto parts as a gesture to the U.S. auto industry. The 25% tariffs are on goods that do not satisfy U.S.-Mexico-Canada rules of origin except for energy and energy resources, which are subject to 10%.
The effective date for derivative steel articles listed in Section (n) of the Federal Register notice will be issued through a public notice from the Secretary of Commerce. This may have been announced by the time this article was published.
Importers must provide “any information that may be required, and in such form,” as deemed by Customs and Border Patrol.
An exclusion has been made for derivative steel articles processed in another country from steel articles melted and poured in the United States.
Note that in Section 232 derivative products, your Harmonized Tariff Schedule code needs to be listed for the tariff to apply.
The tariffs will result in offshore players seeking refuge in third-world countries to circumvent the Trump administration tariffs. Some may even resort to deceptive documentation. Buyer be aware!
“The world trading system is too volatile for firms to rely on likelihood alone,” notes Michael McAdoo, Boston Consulting Group partner and director of global trade and investment. “Scenario thinking and flexible action plans will help firms protect themselves against potential downsides and seize new opportunities.”
Supply chains remain vulnerable
Pricing and the availability of commodity carbon steel butt-welding fittings and forged steel flanges need to be monitored on a regular basis as the situation with tariffs remains very fluid as of this writing.
External forces, including tensions rising in both the Pacific and the Mideast, the shipping constraints in the Red Sea, the current Panama Canal dispute over China’s involvement and Trump’s tariffs, our supply chains remain vulnerable to disruptions and higher costs.
It is, therefore, wise to remain in close contact with your manufacturer/supplier to avoid surprises regarding U.S. Tri-Seal compliance (circumvention), pricing and the availability of pipe, forged flanges, butt-welding fittings, valves and other PVF-related products.
Manufacturing construction continues
Total construction spending fell 0.2% in January, according to a report generated by the U.S. Census Bureau, with year-over-year spending up 3.3%. Monthly residential spending fell 0.5%, while nonresidential rose 0.1% during the same time period. Regional severe weather patterns also impacted construction activity.
On a more positive note, Eaton Corp. intends to retrofit a former distribution center into a manufacturing plant. Eaton is planning on spending $340 million retrofitting a 54-acre brownfield site in Jonesville, South Carolina, into a 861,000-square-foot plant. The building will produce three-phase electrical transformers, which have had long lead times in recent years due to the high demand created by the surge in data center construction.
Virginia is set to get a 400-MW nuclear fusion power plant to be operational by early 2030. Commonwealth Fusion Systems has chosen a 100-acre site leased by Dominion Energy near Richmond, Virginia. Work on the project is expected to commence this year. Estimated TIV is at $3 billion.
Atlanta is in line to start construction on a $5 billion, 2.5-million-square-foot data center consisting of nine buildings across 317 acres due east of the city.
“The market feels steady from where we sit today,” says Michael Russell, CEO of HJ Russell & Co. “We’re seeing solid activity in infrastructure, transit and aviation, but it is clear that clients are being more cautious about how they approach new projects.”
Irving Consumer Products is planning to expand its tissue plant in Macon, Georgia, and construct an automated warehouse at the site. The project will increase the plant’s tissue production capacity from 165,000 tons/year to 248,000 tons/year. Construction was expected to start in March.
In Pennsylvania, Mainspring Energy is planning to construct a power manufacturing plant at the Northfield Industrial Park in Coraopolis. The project includes the construction of a 300,000-square-foot building, along with the purchase and installation of fabrication, machining, welding, finishing, assembly and testing equipment and systems.
The facility will have the capacity to produce 1,000 linear generators a year for use in data centers, hospitals, cold storage, microgrids and other applications.
Skilled labor: 400,000-plus construction job openings
The Mechanical Contractors Association of America held its annual convention in March in the Texas capital city of Austin. The sense of optimism regarding the outlook for the 2025 construction season was expressed by everyone.
Both large and smaller contractors indicated that their backlog of projects would carry them through the year and well into 2026, with several indicating a backlog that extended even further out.
Concern was expressed regarding the dominance of mega data centers, chip manufacturing and lithium battery manufacturing construction projects that are “sucking up” the available pool of skilled labor as well as the current constrained sources of dependable electricity by a majority of the attendees.
A report from Associated General Contractors of America shows 400,000-plus construction job openings for skilled laborers nationally as of this writing, a total that is only set to grow, while 88% of employers reported difficulty in finding qualified workers.
Union, end-users, contractors, mechanical contractors and pipeline operators understand the implications of the skilled labor shortage and have instituted training programs to address the shortage.
PVF Roundtable (PVFRT) recognizes that the void in available skilled works is not being met even with the industry training programs and passionately promotes the funding of trade schools and education programs designed for the PVF industry.
The PVF Roundtable is actively engaged in supporting trade schools and student recruitment for the industry through the PVFRT Charitable Foundation, with scholarships exceeding the $2 million mark in 2024.
The primary funding for the foundation is derived from the funds generated from the PVFRT Annual Golf Tournament and the Annual TroutBlast. They are the major fundraising events for the PVFRT Charitable Foundation that are scheduled for 2025.
The 2025 PVF Roundtable Golf Tournament is scheduled for May 12. Please check the PVFRT website, www.pvf.org, for registration and additional details.
The Weldbend Corp., Ferguson Industrial and MRC Global are key sponsors of these events.
Networking at the PVF Roundtable
The next networking meeting of the PVF Roundtable is scheduled for May 13 (after the golf tournament), opening at 4:30 p.m. CDT. It will be held at the Bayou City Event Center, 9401 Knight Rd., Houston, 281-501-6720.
This venue will provide additional space and convenience to exchange information and meet new colleagues. It’s a great opportunity to network with manufacturers, suppliers and end-users.
Networking meetings are now, more than ever, essential for you, your associates and clients to discuss the issues, share information, meet new contacts, develop new long-lasting friendships and pursue new opportunities in the industry.
As a member of the board of directors, and I speak for all members, we thank for your participation in these events and urge PVF industry leaders to join us in our efforts to facilitate our industry through education and information sharing.
