Did Steel Tariffs Work? A Year in Review

Is there anything Amazon ISN'T dominating these days? Those stories and more in this week's edition of Stock Up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [View this email in your browser]( Did steel tariffs work? Does Tesla have a demand problem? Is there anything Amazon ISN'T dominating these days? Those stories and more in this week's edition of Stock Up. — Nick Sciple, Guest Stock Up Editor Did Steel Tariffs Work? A Year in Review --------------------------------------------------------------- In March of 2018, the United States imposed a 25% tariff on imported steel. In the aftermath, onlookers were sharply divided as to whether the tariffs were good for the US, with economists lashing out against the tariffs as bad for consumers while steel executives applauded them as a necessary step to strike back at illegal, heavily subsidized foreign steel. As we look back a little over a year later, what actually happened? - Foreign steel imports declined and steel prices soared: Total steel imports declined 11.5% in 2018, accompanied by a double-digit surge in steel prices. - US steelmakers improved profitability and market share: Due to selling 6 million more tons of steel in 2018 versus the year before and at higher prices, America's largest steelmakers, Nucor (NYSE:NUE), U.S. Steel (NYSE:X), AK Steel (NYSE:AKS) and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD), experienced huge gains in profitability, with American steel mills reaching their highest capacity utilization rate in a decade. - The market didn't care: Despite the American steel industry's greatest year in a decade, the stocks of all of the country's largest steelmakers are down double digits over the past 12 months. The impact of steel tariffs on industrial companies have led the market to price in a slowdown in demand. In addition, retaliatory tariffs against U.S. goods beyond steel have raised concerns that they may result in a weaker economy, which could hurt the steel market. As a result, the market appears to be pricing in meaningful recession risk for the steel industry. [Read on]( for more details on the past year in steel tariffs and what the market is pricing in moving forward. --------------------------------------------------------------- Already subscribed to a premium service? [Click here]( to view your subscriptions. Not a member yet? [Click here]( to sign up! --------------------------------------------------------------- Watch: How Lyft Actually Makes Money --------------------------------------------------------------- [Watch: How Lyft Actually Makes Money]( With more than 30 million monthly active riders and 39% of the US ridesharing market, recent IPO Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) is quickly building itself into a behemoth. We break down how the company turns all those riders into billions in revenue. --------------------------------------------------------------- Does Tesla Have a Demand Problem? Throughout 2018, questions surrounding Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) focused on supply. Could the company make enough cars to meet demand? So far in 2019, however, the biggest question mark for the company has been focused around demand. Are enough people willing to buy the car? Since the beginning of 2019, the electric vehicle maker has implemented several price cuts across its lineup of vehicles, including introducing the long-awaited $35,000 base version of the Model 3. Despite pulling these demand levers, however, Tesla's sales numbers disappointed in the first quarter, with both the Model 3 and the higher margin Model S and X seeing meaningful declines. What's behind this apparent slip in demand and could it spell doom for the Tesla growth story? [Read on]( to learn more. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Smart Speaker] Not sure what to ask your smart speaker? Keep up with what's happening in the market by adding our daily flash briefing to your home assistant. Just look for The Motley Fool on your Amazon Alexa or Google Home app, click subscribe, and then you're good to go. --------------------------------------------------------------- Amazon Is Losing This $35 Billion Opportunity to Walmart and Target Amazon ([NASDAQ:AMZN]( dominates US e-commerce, accounting for nearly half of Americans' online spending. Given its incredible scale and brand power in online shopping, most readers probably assume Amazon has an insurmountable lead across the entire e-commerce spectrum. However, there's a growing segment where Amazon lags well behind competitors like Walmart ([NYSE:WMT]( and Target ([NYSE:TGT]( curbside pickup. As consumer preferences shift toward curbside pickup, particularly for grocery, Amazon's limited physical presence acts as a handicap for the business. Amazon sports about 520 physical locations in North America, primarily via its Whole Foods Market locations. By comparison, Walmart has over 2,000 stores offering curbside pickup today and will add 1,000 more by the end of the fiscal year. Amazon is working to catch up, but building out physical infrastructure will be expensive, and the company is facing heavy competition from other grocery providers. [Read on]( to learn about how big the curbside pickup opportunity could be for Amazon and the steps the company is taking to compete. --------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURED PODCAST --------------------------------------------------------------- [Motley Fool Answers]( The Aging Workforce: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown. 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