Nucor Leads U.S. Steel-Manufacturing Kickoffs in First Quarter

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Steel producers across the U.S. are optimistic about their 2023 prospects, despite months of economic uncertainty, lower prices and lower consumption. Fitch Ratings (New York, New York) and other analysts expect to see an incremental growth in U.S. steel consumption over the coming year. Industrial Info is tracking $4.5 billion worth of active steel-manufacturing projects that are set to kick off across the U.S. in first-quarter 2023, about 80% of which is attributed to Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina) and its subsidiaries.

Click in the image at right for a heat map of steel-manufacturing projects across the U.S. that are set to kick off from January through March, from Industrial Info's Geolocator tool.

"The ongoing war in Ukraine, dynamic changes in energy cost and shifting monetary policy have amplified economic uncertainty," said Leon Topalian, the chief executive officer of Nucor, in a recent earnings-related conference call. "Even with this uncertainty, we continue to see good demand here in the United States, particularly in our Steel Products segments."

Nucor is preparing to begin construction on a $290 million modernization project at its hot steel mill in Crawfordsville, Indiana, in the first quarter. The company plans to update the 2.4 million-ton-per-year facility with the addition of a 300,000-ton-per-year continuous galvanizing line and a 250,000-ton-per-year pre-paint line. The company also is planning $1 million in repairs to an electric arc furnace at the same facility.

"Investing in Nucor Steel Indiana will allow us to grow our profitability in the Midwest construction region and expand Nucor's pre-paint footprint," said Rex Query, the executive vice president of sheet and tubular products for Nucor, in a press release in early 2022.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Metals & Minerals Project Database can read detailed reports on the Crawfordsville modernization and repair projects.

Although it does not command as big a presence as Nucor in first-quarter kickoff spending, United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel) (NYSE:X) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is preparing to begin construction on one of its most anticipated projects: the $280 million Phase II galvanizing line addition at its Big River Steel complex in Osceola, Arkansas. The new line will increase production at the 3.3 million-ton-per-year complex by roughly 10%. It follows the $3 billion Phase I addition, which kicked off in early 2022, and includes two state-of-the-art electric arc furnaces.

"Our customers are less than a year away from benefiting from the 200,000 ton-per-year state-of-the-art electrical steel line nearing completion at Big River," said Dave Burritt, the chief executive officer of U.S. Steel, of Phase I in a recent quarterly earnings-related conference call. "We will be uniquely positioned with products ranging from 0.25-millimeter to 0.5-millimeter gauge to serve high-end electric-vehicle grades of steel." He added that Phase II would expand U.S. Steel's downstream finishing lines to better serve the automotive and paint markets.

Subscribers can read detailed project reports on the Phase I and Phase II additions at the Big River complex.

Burritt said he expects U.S. Steel's full-year 2023 capital spending "to be in the neighborhood of $2.5 billion," including about $1.7 billion for in-flight projects such as Big River Phase II: "We expect spending will ramp down in 2024 as we move toward commissioning and full operations of these projects."

Those projects include the $60 million plant addition at the Gary Steel Works complex in Gary, Indiana, which is expected to produce 500,000 tons per year of pig iron to be used at Big River's electric arc furnace. The projects, set to wrap up in the first half of 2023, "will accelerate the competitive cost advantage gained by our using internally produced pig iron." Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's project report.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project Database 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 reports for active steel-manufacturing projects that are set to kick off across the U.S. in first-quarter 2023.

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).