Nucor Looks to Steel Market Growth in 2021 After Fourth-Quarter Rebound

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Following a rough year for the steel market, Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina) is expecting sunnier horizons in 2021. The company projects its sheet, plate, bar and structural mills will see substantially higher profits as commodity prices improve over the coming year, along with improvement in steel-consuming sectors such as nonresidential construction, automotive production and heavy-equipment manufacturing. Industrial Info is tracking more than $3.7 billion in projects from Nucor, nearly 90% of which is attributed to grassroot or plant expansion projects.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing Nucor's active projects, by project type.

Average per-ton sales prices at Nucor's sheet and plate mills increased 5% from third-quarter 2020 and 3% from fourth-quarter 2019. Nearly 6.5 million tons were shipped to outside customers, a 2% jump from third-quarter 2020 and nearly unchanged from fourth-quarter 2019. Nucor also reported its average scrap and scrap substitute cost per gross ton used in fourth-quarter 2020 was $305, a 10% increase compared with $277 in third-quarter 2020 and an 11% increase compared with $275 in fourth-quarter 2019.

Nucor's optimism for 2021 is shared by many of its peers in the steel market. For more details, see January, 27, 2021, article - Steel Dynamics Finishes Rough Year with Strong Results, Cheery Outlook for Market.

One sign of revived hopes is the resumption of activity at one of Nucor's biggest projects: a $1.7 billion steel plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky, which is expected to produce 1.2 million tons per year. A major advantage of the new mill is its location on the Ohio River, which will allow Nucor to move more easily its products by barge. The company was forced to delay some of the construction activity amid last year's COVID-19 outbreak, but still expects to complete the project in 2022, albeit in the fourth quarter. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Nucor already has a big footprint in the Bluegrass State. The steel producer expects to wrap up a $550 million expansion at its Gallatin Steel Mill in Ghent, Kentucky, this summer, after expressing concern last year that the pandemic might push its completion to a much later date. The company also is at work on the $100 million addition of an electric arc furnace at the same facility; the two projects are expected to boost its production from 1.6 million to 3 million tons per year. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the mill expansion and electric arc furnace.

Another project set to wrap up this summer is Nucor's $275 million addition at its Hickman steel sheet plant in Blytheville, Arkansas. The project includes a more flexible galvanizing line and furnace, with the latest annealing technology for high-strength steel grades. It is expected to add 455,000 tons per year of sheet metal production to the 2.6 million-ton-per-year facility. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Nucor's net sales totaled $5.26 billion for fourth-quarter 2020, a 2.5% increase from fourth-quarter 2019, although full-year sales dipped 10.84% to $20.14 billion. Net income jumped from $107.8 million in fourth-quarter 2019 to $398.8 million, but the full-year totaled $721.5 million, a 43.24% dip from 2019.

"Looking ahead, we are confident that Nucor is poised for continued growth, and we anticipate earnings in the first quarter of 2021 to significantly increase from the fourth quarter of 2020" said Leon Topalian, Nucor's chief executive officer, in a quarterly earnings-related press release.

In addition to the abovementioned projects, Industrial Info is tracking 67 maintenance-related projects at Nucor facilities across the U.S. that are set to begin before the end of 2022. Click here for a list.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.