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Released February 04, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Cleveland-Cliffs Incorporated (NYSE:CLF) (Cleveland, Ohio) closed off a brutal 2024 for the domestic steel industry with a glimmer of hope: President Trump's vow to hike tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China, which could include stronger action on steel imports in particular. The company also anticipates growth from a series of improvements at a recently acquired subsidiary in Canada. Industrial Info is tracking more than US$3.6 billion worth of active and proposed projects across the U.S. and Canada from Cleveland-Cliffs, more than two-thirds of which is attributed to steel-manufacturing projects.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active and proposed projects across the U.S. and Canada from Cleveland-Cliffs, by industrial sector.
"Other than the COVID-impacted 2020, 2024 was the worst year for domestic steel demand since 2010," said Lourenco Goncalves, the chief executive officer of Cleveland-Cliffs, in a press release previewing the company's quarterly earnings. "As the largest supplier to the automotive industry in North America, we were especially impacted by muted demand from this sector in the second half of the year. This was the primary driver of our weaker results, particularly in the fourth quarter, which we expect to be the trough as we look forward."
Cleveland-Cliffs is at work on a series of improvement projects at steel-production plants across the U.S., including its 2.7 million-ton-per-year steel mill in Middletown, Ohio, where it recently kicked off relines and rebuilds on a pair of oxygen furnaces and is proposing a pair of new electric-melt furnaces to replace a coal-based blast furnace and to produce liquid iron. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can read detailed reports on the projects for oxygen furnaces and electric-melt furnaces.
At its 5 million-ton-per-year Steel Works complex in Burns Harbor, Indiana, Cleveland-Cliffs is preparing to upgrade a coke battery later this year at its 1.75 million-ton-per-year coke plant, and is considering a proposed carbon-capture system designed to capture up to 70% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from blast furnaces. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the projects for the coke battery and carbon-capture system.
A major bright spot in 2024 for Cleveland-Cliffs was its acquisition of integrated Canadian steelmaker Stelco, which now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary. Stelco recently started work on US$21.07 million in equipment additions and upgrades at its Lake Erie Works Steel Mill in Nanticoke, Ontario, to improve operations over a three-year period. The subsidiary also is preparing for the US$34.73 million addition of a blast furnace stove to reduce emissions at the 2.6 million-ton-per-year complex. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the equipment and blast furnace additions at Nanticoke.
"Stelco has been a major contributor since day 1 and a substantial portion of our expected synergies are already in motion," Goncalves said. "Based on their experience in 2018, we expect Stelco will benefit from steel tariffs [in 2025]." For more information on the acquisition, see October 31, 2024, article - Cleveland-Cliffs to Close Stelco Acquisition.
The Nanticoke site also is home to one of Cleveland-Cliffs' most ambitious projects: A US$10 million lithium-ion battery-recycling demonstration plant, which is nearing completion and is expected to lead to the construction of a commercial-scale, US$160 million battery-recycling plant later this year. The project, which is being developed with Primobius GmbH (Hilchenbach, Germany), is designed to recycle battery cells from end-of-life cars produced in North America. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the demonstration and commercial-scale projects.
"So far into this new year, we have already seen improvements in our order book, both automotive and non-automotive, and are confident that the manufacturing-friendly items on President Trump's agenda will have an outsized benefit on Cleveland-Cliffs," Goncalves said in the press release.
Goncalves praised Trump's recently announced tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, "and the expectation that there is more to come on steel specifically."
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 active and proposed projects across the U.S. and Canada from Cleveland-Cliffs.
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).
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active and proposed projects across the U.S. and Canada from Cleveland-Cliffs, by industrial sector."Other than the COVID-impacted 2020, 2024 was the worst year for domestic steel demand since 2010," said Lourenco Goncalves, the chief executive officer of Cleveland-Cliffs, in a press release previewing the company's quarterly earnings. "As the largest supplier to the automotive industry in North America, we were especially impacted by muted demand from this sector in the second half of the year. This was the primary driver of our weaker results, particularly in the fourth quarter, which we expect to be the trough as we look forward."
Cleveland-Cliffs is at work on a series of improvement projects at steel-production plants across the U.S., including its 2.7 million-ton-per-year steel mill in Middletown, Ohio, where it recently kicked off relines and rebuilds on a pair of oxygen furnaces and is proposing a pair of new electric-melt furnaces to replace a coal-based blast furnace and to produce liquid iron. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can read detailed reports on the projects for oxygen furnaces and electric-melt furnaces.
At its 5 million-ton-per-year Steel Works complex in Burns Harbor, Indiana, Cleveland-Cliffs is preparing to upgrade a coke battery later this year at its 1.75 million-ton-per-year coke plant, and is considering a proposed carbon-capture system designed to capture up to 70% of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from blast furnaces. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the projects for the coke battery and carbon-capture system.
A major bright spot in 2024 for Cleveland-Cliffs was its acquisition of integrated Canadian steelmaker Stelco, which now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary. Stelco recently started work on US$21.07 million in equipment additions and upgrades at its Lake Erie Works Steel Mill in Nanticoke, Ontario, to improve operations over a three-year period. The subsidiary also is preparing for the US$34.73 million addition of a blast furnace stove to reduce emissions at the 2.6 million-ton-per-year complex. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the equipment and blast furnace additions at Nanticoke.
"Stelco has been a major contributor since day 1 and a substantial portion of our expected synergies are already in motion," Goncalves said. "Based on their experience in 2018, we expect Stelco will benefit from steel tariffs [in 2025]." For more information on the acquisition, see October 31, 2024, article - Cleveland-Cliffs to Close Stelco Acquisition.
The Nanticoke site also is home to one of Cleveland-Cliffs' most ambitious projects: A US$10 million lithium-ion battery-recycling demonstration plant, which is nearing completion and is expected to lead to the construction of a commercial-scale, US$160 million battery-recycling plant later this year. The project, which is being developed with Primobius GmbH (Hilchenbach, Germany), is designed to recycle battery cells from end-of-life cars produced in North America. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the demonstration and commercial-scale projects.
"So far into this new year, we have already seen improvements in our order book, both automotive and non-automotive, and are confident that the manufacturing-friendly items on President Trump's agenda will have an outsized benefit on Cleveland-Cliffs," Goncalves said in the press release.
Goncalves praised Trump's recently announced tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, "and the expectation that there is more to come on steel specifically."
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 active and proposed projects across the U.S. and Canada from Cleveland-Cliffs.
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).
