Forget Scrap -- Direct Reduced Iron is New Big Trend in Steel Industry

SUGAR LAND--January 27, 2014--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Affordable natural gas seems to be boosting investments in direct-reduced iron and hot-briquetted iron (DRI/HBI) in North America, particularly in the U.S. Companies like Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUR) (Charlotte, North Carolina), Voestalpine (Linz, Austria), Republic Steel (Canton, Ohio), North Star BlueScope (Melbourne, Australia) and newcomer International Metallics Corporation (Reston, Virginia) are making huge investments in DRI/HBI. Altogether, companies have spent approximately $300 million to $800 million on recent DRI projects in North America. Other companies featured: U.S. Steel (NYSE:X)