MISSOULA — President Donald Trump announced tariffs on almost every country in the world on April 2.
While many of the tariffs are currently on hold, uncertainty in businesses continues to grow. That goes for Axmen Recycling in Missoula, where the scrap markets are fluctuating at a level never before seen.
“The only thing I know for sure is that, you know, we're going to keep on moving forward. Scrap still has to be recycled, will be recycled. And, you know, hopefully, I mean, we'll be here for a long time,” said Axmen Recycling owner Guy Hanson.
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The current discussion about tariffs has been creating uncertainty for businesses across the country, and here locally, that's no different for Axman recycling, who are still grappling with what the tariffs might mean for them.
“The problem comes in when you get the email from your buyer, who tells you that with the last round of tariffs, they have no market,” said Hanson.
Hanson says that over the past six months, the markets for recycled metals have fluctuated more than usual. One example Hanson gave was the steel market, which he says has dropped 20% since the tariffs were first announced.
“For many, many years, the price of steel might go up $10 a month, might go down $10 a month, but it didn't fluctuate wildly,” explained Hanson.
Hanson also says that while this time may be more uncertain than previous market changes, they have seen a situation like this before.
“There is a similar situation that occurred in 2017. In 2017, China shut off the flow of a lot of recyclables into China. They were being buried in garbage, basically, and the stuff that we were shipping them was stuff that we would never accept ourselves," Hanson explained. "And so they had a major initiative. They stopped that and they established new standards for what they would accept. And it changed a lot of what we do."
“In the 52 years I've been in business, I've seen times like this before and I've survived them. You know, without a doubt, we'll survive this one,” said Hanson.
Hanson also told MTN that he believes “this too shall pass” and that Axmen will keep on recycling despite the uncertainty.
