Cleveland-Cliffs Enters Multi-Year Steel Deals With Automakers, Says Report

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CLF) has signed fixed price contracts with multiple U.S. carmakers to supply steel for up to three years, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The contracts are for industry-standard sheet steel, the report said, while also adding that General Motors Co. (GM) is one of the automakers to have inked a multiyear pact. The agreed-upon prices are unclear, the report added.

Shares of CLF traded 1% higher at the time of writing. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around CLF trended in the ‘bearish’ territory over the past 24 hours, while message volume stayed at ‘low’ levels.

The duration of the contracts marks a change for the supplier of automotive steel, Bloomberg noted, while highlighting that previous contracts were usually for only one year.

The longer contracts are a hedge for automakers who are trying to procure a fixed price over concerns that President Trump’s tariffs will stoke inflation, Bloomberg said. Trump imposed 25% on imports of foreign steel in March and further hiked it to 50% in June. Canada is the biggest foreign supplier of steel to the U.S., accounting for about 23% of American imports in 2024, the report added. Trump has yet to enter a trade deal with Canada.

The report added that it is not clear which automakers entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Cleveland. The company supplies to GM, Ford Motor Co. (F), and Stellantis NV (STLA).

GM said last month that it expects gross tariff impact of $4 billion to $5 billion for the year, but is attempting to mitigate at least 30% of it. In the second quarter (Q2) alone, GM incurred a $1.1 billion net impact from tariffs.

Ford, meanwhile, expects a net tariff-related headwind of about $2 billion for the full year.

CLF stock is up by 13% this year but down by about 16% over the past 12 months. 

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