U.S. Steel Manufacturers, Metal Processors Prepare for Second-Quarter Maintenance

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. steel-manufacturing and metal-processing sectors are bracing for potential effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus. With a recession likelier by the day, global demand for steel and metal products could take a serious, possibly long-term hit. Producers will want to keep their facilities in good condition for any eventual return to regular activity. Industrial Info is tracking about 60 maintenance-related projects at U.S. facilities for steel manufacturing and the rolling, processing, finishing and fabrication of metals set to begin in the second quarter.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 U.S. states for steel-manufacturing and metal-processing maintenance kickoffs from April through June.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) (Charlotte, North Carolina) was among the companies to see the earliest warning signs. The company said in January it is planning $2 billion worth of capital spending in 2020, largely to fund key steel mill projects. But Nucor's stock tumbled 13% in February as concerns about COVID-19 grew, according to The Motley Fool, and some investors feared a drop in demand could hurt planned growth. For more information on Nucor's growth plans, see January 29, 2020, article - Nucor Boosts Growth Capex to $2 Billion in 2020 as Steel Market Conditions Improve.

Many of Nucor's steel mills across the U.S. Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions are among those preparing for maintenance, including the:

li>Berkeley Steel Mill in Huger, South Carolina, which processes 3.7 million tons per year; see project report
• Darlington Steel Works in Darlington, South Carolina, which processes 1.1 million tons per year; see project report
• Blytheville Steel Mill in Armorel, Arkansas, which processes 2.5 million tons per year; see project report
• Hickman Steel Sheet Plant in Blytheville, Arkansas, which processes 2.6 million tons per year; see project report
• Cofield-Hertford Steel Plate Mill in Cofield, North Carolina, which processes 1.75 million tons per year; see project report
• Jackson Flowood Steel Rebar Mill in Flowood, Mississippi, which processes 550,000 tons per year; see project report

In addition to its projects across the South, Nucor is preparing for maintenance shutdowns on the rolling mill and melt shop at its steel mill in Auburn, New York, which processes 550,000 tons per year of steel bar. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the rolling mill and melt shop projects.

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) (U.S. Steel) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and Steel Dynamics Incorporated (NASDAQ:STLD) (Fort Wayne, Indiana) also saw their stock prices dive amid the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to concerns over demand, market watchers are worried that excess steel production in China could result in more Chinese steel being sent overseas, including to U.S. shores, according to The Motley Fool.

Nonetheless, U.S. Steel joined Nucor last month in hiking steel sheet prices by at least $40 per short ton, according to Bloomberg, as both companies are betting that supplies will be tight in the near term. An analyst at Cowen Incorporated (NASDAQ:COWN) (New York, New York) told Bloomberg that last year's global manufacturing slump seems to have eased, and that pandemic-related transportation problems could limit inventory restocking. U.S. Steel is preparing for a pair of shutdowns in May at Indiana-based facilities: the Gary Steel Works in Gary, which produces 7.5 million tons per year of steel, and the Midwest Steel Products Plant in Portage, which processes cold sheet and tin.

Gary Steel Works is preparing for weekly rolling shutdowns and planned one-week maintenance shutdowns, from May through October. The Portage facility is preparing for 16-hour monthly shutdowns and several 7-day shutdowns, over the same time period. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Gary and Portage projects.

Steel Dynamics also is looking at a string of shutdowns in Indiana, including at its:

• steel bar mill in Pittsboro, which produces 950,000 tons per year; see project report
• steel minimill in Columbia City, which produces 1.1 million tons of structural steel beam and 500,000 tons of rail per year; see project report
• direct-reduced iron plant in Butler, which produces 260,000 tons per year; see project report
• melt shop at its flat-rolled steel minimill in Butler, which produces 3 million tons per year; see project report
• hot mill complex at its flat-rolled steel minimill in Butler; see project report

Click here for a complete list of maintenance-related projects at U.S. facilities for steel manufacturing and the rolling, processing, finishing and fabrication of metals that are set to kick off from April through June.

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/.