Three big steel companies report earnings Tuesday; Nucor, AK Steel and U.S. Steel.

First, what’s good for American steel makers: the strong U.S. economy and car sales, says Benjamin Liebman, chairman of the economics department at St. Joseph’s University. But, “the other side is that you have a surge in imports. And that is putting down pressure on prices,” he says.

The other challenge? Plunging oil prices. Thorsten Schier, steel editor at American Metal Market, says that means oil drillers are doing less drilling. And drilling uses lots of steel pipe. 

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