Supply Chain Research

U.S. tariffs on steel imports resulted in a drop in profitability for auto-parts manufacturer Tenneco. Its group EBIT margin fell to 4.7% from 5.9% a year earlier in the third quarter, with 30 basis points of the 120 basis points reduction caused by the Trump administration’s steel tariffs raising its raw material costs according to CEO Brian Kesseler. Tenneco’s imports of steel accounted for 15.9% of its seaborne imports in the 12 months to Sept. 30, and had fallen by 29.5% on a year earlier in the third quarter. Yet, the company expects the more recent duties on Chinese exports to prov...