U.S. Metals & Minerals Players Plot First-Quarter Maintenance

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Across the multifaceted U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry, key players are preparing for maintenance projects at mines, steel mills and other facilities that make the ingredients for American infrastructure. These include iconic companies like Cleveland-Cliffs Incorporated (NYSE:CLF) (Cleveland, Ohio) and United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) (U.S. Steel) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), which are looking at very different futures. Industrial Info is tracking about $1.2 billion worth of maintenance-related projects in the U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry that are set to kick off in the first quarter of 2025, with steel-manufacturing plants alone accounting for more than 30% of the total.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry maintenance projects set to begin work from January through March, by industry sector.

Steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs leads all other companies in its first-quarter maintenance investments, with most of its activity centered around the manufacturing-heavy Great Lakes region. Indiana accounts for the bulk of these projects, with two plants featuring multiple projects: the company's complex in New Carlisle, which is planning four-day maintenance every three months of the coming year, starting in March, at its continuous cold-rolling mill and hot-dip galvanizing and electro-galvanizing plant; and the steel works complex in Burns Harbor, which is planning outages on its boilers and coke plant on a similar schedule.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can learn more from detailed reports on the New Carlisle cold-rolling and hot-dip galvanizing projects, and the Burns Harbor boiler and coke plant projects.

Cleveland-Cliffs substantially boosted its presence in the global steelmaking market when it completed its acquisition of Stelco Holdings earlier this quarter. The addition solidified Cleveland-Cliffs' position as the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, diversified its role in end-markets, and expanded its presence in Canada. For more information, see October 31, 2024, article - Cleveland-Cliffs to Close Stelco Acquisition.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina) only narrowly trails Cleveland-Cliffs, with a stronger concentration in the U.S. South. Two facilities in Alabama are hosting multiple projects: Nucor's Decatur complex in Trinity, which will begin a pair of shutdowns at its flat-rolled steel mini-mill, which will occur periodically through October, and its steel tubing and pipe mill, which will occur periodically through the end of the year; and its complex in Birmingham, which will perform maintenance on its steel rebar mini-mill and steel tubing and pipe mill periodically through the end of the year.

The Trinity complex produces 2.4 million tons per year of flat-rolled steel, while the Birmingham complex produces 600,000 tons per year of rebar. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the flat-rolled and tubing/pipe projects at Trinity, and the rebar and tubing/pipe projects at Birmingham.

In the cement-production sector, Holcim Limited (Zug, Switzerland) is preparing for a four-month shutdown at its plant in Alpena, Michigan, which produces 2.4 million tons per year of cement, and a pair of two- to three-week shutdowns at its plant in Midlothian, Texas, which produces 2.5 million tons per year. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Alpena and Midlothian projects.

On the mining side, U.S. Steel is preparing for a year-long program for normal inspections and repairs to its 143,000-ton-per-day Taconite Iron Ore Mine in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, which includes a 16 million-ton-per-year pelletizing complex that is set to begin a month-long program in the first quarter. The company's new, higher-grade taconite pellet is a bright spot for a company that could be sold to Nippon Steel Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) in the near future, depending on regulatory outcomes. Subscribers can learn more from detailed reports on the mine and pelletizing complex.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of detailed reports for maintenance-related projects in the U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry that are set to kick off in the first quarter.

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) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).