SupplyLines
CAPACITY UPDATES
Although some companies announced they would be idling capacity, others are moving along at full speed ahead. The latter seemed to be the most prevalent as 2013 came to a close, which may lend itself to market optimism in the first part of 2014.
EVRAZ to idle Delaware mill EVRAZ North America announced on October 14 that due to subdued market demand and the high volume of imports, it would suspend operations at its steel mill in Claymont, Delaware. Over the next two months, about 375 employees would complete processing and shipping of existing products and prepare the mill for idling. EVRAZ will consider restarting the operations as soon as market conditions improve. EVRAZ doesn’t expect any adverse financial effect on its operations in North America as a result of this action, and customers of the Claymont mill will be served by other EVRAZ facilities in Portland, Oregon, and Regina, Saskatchewan. “We appreciate our employees’ efforts to operate EVRAZ Claymont as efficiently as possible,” said John Zanieski, Executive Vice President - Flat Products and Recycling. “Unfortunately, market conditions continue to be challenging and low market visibility makes it difficult to foresee when positive changes will occur.” All of the mill’s employees, with the exception of a small crew who will remain to maintain the site, have been issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN). With the help of Governor Markell’s office, the company is evaluating options for resuming operations at the Claymont mill. EVRAZ Claymont makes steel plate and custom plate products for industrial customers. Total production volumes in H1 2013 and for the whole of 2012 were 189,025 tons and 383,590 tons, respectively. Vale prepares to start new Carajas Additional project Vale SA told reporters on October 15 it would soon commence its US$3.5 billion Carajas Additional 40 Mtpy project in Brazil as it expands production. According to Paulo Horta, the company’s North Ferrous Director, Vale expects to obtain the operational license for the project this month. e $3.48 billion Carajas Additional 40 Mtpy project consists of the construction of an iron-ore dry processing plant that will have an estimated annual output capacity of 40 million metric tons. ArcelorMittal Acindar to build new rebar mill in Argentina On October 22, global steelmaker ArcelorMittal announced its Argentina-based unit ArcelorMittal Acindar will invest $100 million in a new rolling mill in Santa Fe province, Argentina. e rolling mill with an annual production capacity of 400,000 mt will be built to manufacture steel bars for civil construction. e
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project is expected to take 18 to 24 months to build, with operations expected to start in two years’ time. e new mill will enhance competitiveness and the company’s ability to supply both the domestic market, where there is growing demand for steel products for the construction industry, and export markets. e new rolling mill will also enable ArcelorMittal Acindar to optimize production at its special bar quality (SBQ) rolling mill in Villa Constitución, which in the future will only manufacture products for the automotive and mining industries.
American Steel Pipe announces $55 million expansion On October 31, Birmingham, Alabama-based American Steel Pipe, a division of American Cast Iron Pipe Company, announced it would expand its steel pipe operations, adding a processing facility to its North Mill. e facility will cost more than $55 million to construct. e company manufactures electric-resistance-welded (ERW) steel pipe in diameters from 10.75 to 20 inches in its South Mill, and 16 to 24 inches in its North Mill, and it produces ERW pipe up to 84 feet in length for the oil and gas industries. e new, 150,000-square-foot facility will house state-of-the-art testing equipment, including two hydrotesters, two ultrasonic testing machines and a new end facing system to bevel the ends of the pipe. e current processing facility will be decoupled from the North Mill and adjoined to the plant’s South Mill, doubling its processing capacity. e expansion is slated for completion in 2014, and the company is also making other upgrades to its North Mill, including a new marking system, steel skelp leveler, weld stand, flying cutoff and seam annealers. US Steel to permanently close doors on Hamilton mill On October 29, US Steel Corp announced it would permanently shut down operations at its Hamilton, Ontario, mill at the end of 2013. e integrated mill, which US Steel acquired for $1 billion in 2007 from Canadian steelmaker Stelco, Inc. and had an annual capacity of 2.3 million tons before it was idled in 2010, will continue its coke-making and steel finishing operations at Hamilton. CEO Mario Longhi said the Hamilton closure is part of an initiative dubbed “Project Carnegie” that aims to reduce costs by about $50 million a year. In addition to the Hamilton shutdown, the company will close two coke batteries at Gary Works in Indiana, and let two 1 million ton per year iron ore supply contracts expire in 2013 SO \ and 2014.
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