AISTech 2026: U.S. Steel Industry Healthy Riding $50 Billion Capital Spending Wave

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Written by Joe Govreau for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

At AISTech 2026's Town Hall Forum, C-Suite steel industry panelists provided key insight regarding the status of the industry and disposition of $50 billion spend.

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Steel Executives Speak

Last week, Industrial Info exhibited at the leading steel industry tradeshow and technical conference AISTech 2026, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the event's Town Hall Forum was an informative question and answer exchange featuring panelists from five of the nation's leading steel producers, including Paul Lawrence, senior vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) at CMC; Kevin Lewis, executive vice president (VP), CFO and head of Tubular Solutions for U.S. Steel; Douglas Matthews, president and chief executive officer of Orion Steel; Jack Sullivan, CFO, treasurer and executive VP at Nucor; and Kristopher Westbrooks, president and chief operating officer at Metallus. Discussion focused on topics important to the industry, including demand drivers, constraints and the large amount of capital that has been invested in recent years to modernize, grow and maintain the industry.

According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are 306 active capital steel projects totaling $47 billion in the U.S. and Canada. This includes $10.5 billion of projects under construction, $3.4 billion of projects in the engineering stage and $33.1 billion in projects in the planning stages.

"Over the past five years the North America steel industry has spent nearly $50 billion in capex projects," said Ron Ashburn, executive director of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST). A good portion of that expenditure is for primary steelmaking, while significant investment is also being made in upstream processes like ironmaking, and also in downstream processing. The industry is indeed reaping the rewards from those expenditures, as new capacity comes online at a time of growing demand. Steel production in the U.S. has grown for the fourth consecutive year, aided by the Section 232 50% tariff on steel imports. While project activity will slow as companies bring online and optimize the new capacity there will remain a healthy level of spend going forward.

Both CMC and Nucor have been on a mill building spree in recent years. Nucor having spent $20 billion is in the midst of construction of a new grassroot steel sheet mill in Apple Grove, West Virginia, due to come online in 2027. While activity may be slowing for some companies like CMC and Nucor, it is growing for others, such as U.S. Steel. Acquired by Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion in 2025, U.S. Steel has a $14 billion plan for capex through 2028. And there is a number of other foreign-owned entities, which would like to gain a piece of the U.S. market, such as Hyundai Steel and POSCO, which is developing a $6 billion integrated steel mill project in Louisiana.

By the Numbers

• U.S. steel manufacturers have spent $50 billion between 2021 and 2026.
• Nucor expects 5-10% growth in steel demand over the next 12 months.
• Steel imports down 25% in 1Q26 compared to 1Q25.

Steel Demand is Strong

We are expecting 5-10% growth in steel demand over the next 12 months, said Nucor's Jack Sullivan. Mr. Sullivan went on to say that data centers and semiconductor chip plant construction continue to be strong drivers of activity for Nucor, with data centers accounting for 10% of the company's order backlog. As go data centers so goes electricity demand. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the flow of electricity in most of Texas, is expecting electricity demand to quadruple from 80 gigawatts (GW) to more than 300 GW in 10 years. This will provide lots of opportunity for steel demand growth.

Kristopher Westbrooks with Metallus noted strong demand from aerospace and defense driving order books. Paul Lawrence of CMC mentioned that demand associated with rebuilding the nation's infrastructure remains strong, with only 50% of the Infrastructure Bill funding having been expended.

The industry is healthy benefitting from the 50% Section 232 tariffs on steel imports, which have reduced steel imports by 25% in 1Q26 when compared to 1Q25. When asked if the tariffs were benefiting the steel industry, Kevin Lewis, Executive VP, CFO and head of Tubular Solutions for U.S. Steel, provided the example of the planned restart of the company's tin mill at the Gary works as a direct result of the tariffs.

So, What's Next?

With the significant capital expansion in steelmaking capacity mainly receding, what is on the horizon for the industry? Nucor's Jack Sullivan said, "Most of the capital that has been deployed in recent history has been to grow our core steel making operations, and what you will see is that as we pivot from ramping up those projects, we may start allocating more capital into our downstream operations, such as steel fabrication and steel adjacent markets."

Key Takeaways

• U.S. steel industry is healthy, spurred by strong demand and Section 232 tariffs.
• According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are 306 active capital steel projects totaling $47 billion in the U.S. and Canada.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).