Benlee calls 2025 record year

Benlee Manufacturing, a Romulus, Michigan-based producer of truck trailers for the metal recycling and waste industries, says it attained record-high revenue and product shipment levels in 2025.

The company attributes the milestone year to “surging demand from domestic scrap metal recyclers supplying American steel mills” and from environmental service companies supporting United States oil and gas production—sectors Benlee says are benefiting from current trade and energy policies—as well as explosive growth in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, semiconductor plants, rare earth materials and defense spending.

States the company, “With 50 percent tariffs now imposed on imported steel and aluminum under Section 232, domestic steel production is accelerating, creating increased demand for the scrap metal collection equipment Benlee has manufactured in Michigan for more than 50 years.”

“The steel tariffs are a game changer for American industry, and our record 2025 results reflect exactly that,” says Greg Brown, CEO and owner of Benlee Manufacturing. “When domestic steel mills run harder, scrap metal recyclers need more equipment—and that equipment comes from us. We shipped more trailers and trucks last year than at any point in our company’s history, and we expect 2026 to be even stronger.”

According to Benlee, the U.S. produced approximately 82 million metric tons of steel in 2025, with roughly 70 percent of that steel made from recycled scrap metal.

“American steel mills depend on a steady supply of processed scrap delivered by scrap metal recyclers—companies that rely on Benlee roll-off trailers and gondola trailers to collect, transport and process ferrous and nonferrous metals,” states the firm.

Activities to expand domestic oil and gas production also are driving growth in the environmental services sector, says Benlee, adding in that sector companies that provide waste hauling, site remediation and environmental cleanup services to that industry rely on the type of heavy-duty roll-off equipment made by Benlee.

“Whether it’s a recycler feeding a steel mill in Ohio or an environmental contractor cleaning up a well site in Texas, they need equipment they can count on,” says Brown said. “That’s why we’ve never cut corners on our warranty, our steel specifications or our manufacturing standards. Everything we build is built in Michigan, by American workers with American steel.”

Benlee describes itself as operating from a 19-acre campus in suburban Detroit, saying it has maintained its commitment to domestic manufacturing through multiple economic cycles.

“We have never outsourced our manufacturing and we never will,” says Brown, whose company also publishes a weekly report on steel recycling available through its website.

Regarding Benlee’s outlook, Brown states, “The demand is there, the policy environment is supportive, and Benless, a company that never left American manufacturing, is ready to scale.”