Five U.S. states Compete for Nucor's Proposed Steel Bar Mill

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Nucor Corporation’s board of directors has approved the proposal to build new steel bar mill and expand the operations of its existing mills in the US. Five states in the Midwest and Southeast- Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, South Carolina and Florida are in competition for being selected as the site for the future mill. Also, the company will undertake significant expansion of operations at either of the existing merchant bar operations facilities in Illinois or Ohio.

According to news release issued by Nucor, the plans to construct new steel bar mill and expand the merchant bar operations are part of the company strategy aimed at long-term profitable growth. The expansion project will further leverage the company’s existing operating capabilities. The projects will help Nucor to boost its market spread and also help to better serve its existing and future customers. Moreover, the Board of Directors noted that the projects would aid the company to maintain its position as a low-cost producer.

Earlier in August, Nucor had announced acquisition of St. Louis Cold Drawn, Inc., a manufacturer of cold drawn rounds, hexagons, squares, and special sections. The acquisition had expanded Nucor’s position as the market leader in cold finished bar products and increased its sales to automotive customers in the US and Mexico. The addition of two of the company’s facilities in St. Louis, Missouri, and Monterrey, Mexico had helped Nucor to raise its cold finished bar and wire facilities to more than 1.1 million tons per year.

Meantime, Nucor had recently lowered its guidance for the third quarter of 2017, mainly on the back of unexpected outages at Louisiana facility and threat posed by rising steel imports into the country. Earnings of steel mill segment and plate mills unit are expected to remain subdued during the quarter, it noted. The profitability of steel products unit is predicted to record marginal improvement. As per trade data, imports accounted for 28% market share of finished steel in the US. Meantime, the various duties imposed lately by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) may turn favorable for domestic steel industry at least in the quarters to come.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Nucor Corporation is North America’s largest recycler and the nation’s largest producer of steel and steel products. The company employs nearly 24,000 people at about 200 facilities primarily located in the US and Canada, including several wholly owned subsidiaries.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Nucor Corporation is North America’s largest recycler and the nation’s largest producer of steel and steel products.