U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry Slates $21.4 Billion in Project Starts for 2014

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The value of U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry projects scheduled to begin construction in 2014 is down 17% when compared with last year. Currently, there are 436 active Metals & Minerals Industry projects in the U.S. totaling $21.4 billion that are scheduled to begin construction during 2014.

At the beginning of 2013, the industry had $25.8 billion scheduled to begin construction during the coming year. However, more than 59% of the value of those projects were placed on hold, cancelled or delayed during the year due to market conditions. Right now, the industry is looking at $10.6 billion worth of projects that began construction during 2013.

Project fallout was high in 2013 due to market conditions, such as low commodity prices and lagging demand, which impacted mining projects. These factors will continue to have a negative impact on project spending in 2014. But economic drivers have improved domestically, especially for those sectors serving the Oil & Gas Industry. Real Estate construction and automotive manufacturing improvements continue to benefit the Metals & Minerals sectors and will boost domestic project development in 2014.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of projects by market region.

Planned project starts are beginning at a lower level, but Industrial Info expects that the value of project starts in 2014 will be flat to slightly higher, as strengthening domestic market conditions are creating less fallout than expected.

The Rocky Mountain region has the largest value of projects lined up for 2014, with 89 projects totaling almost $8 billion.

The Southwest region is the second-largest, with 44 projects totaling $3.6 billion. Several large-scale iron and steel projects are scheduled to begin construction in the Southwest next year, including Big River Steel in Arkansas and Voestalpine USA Corporation (Houston, Texas), which is planning a new direct-reduced iron plant in Corpus Christi, Texas.

The Great Lakes region has the most projects, with 103 plans totaling $2 billion.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.