Posted on 27 Oct 2022
The chief executive of integrated steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs cheered on a new plate mill being built by one of his competitors, arguing it will fight plate imports.
The new 1.2mn short ton/yr plate mill being built by electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Nucor in Brandenburg, Kentucky, should begin producing plate by the end of the year.
"The new (plate) capacity that's coming is overdue," Cliffs' chief executive Lourenco Goncalves said yesterday. "Plate has been a playground for imports for a long long time, and I am happy that Nucor put the capital to deploy capacity where capacity is needed and pushing imports out. That is a good mentality."
In 2021, the US imported 531,000 metric tonnes (585,000st) of plate cut-to-length, up by 64pc compared with the prior year, according to data from the US Department of Commerce. Through August 2022, the US imported 324,000t, with South Korea and Canada being the two largest sources.
Thinner plate in coil imports more than doubled to 1.49mn t and were at 1.03mn t through August, with more than half from Canada and large amounts from Mexico and South Korea.
Market participants have voiced concerns that Brandeburg's new capacity will flood the market and lead to a drop in plate prices, which have remained stubbornly above their historical average spread with hot-rolled coil. The Argus US plate ex-works assessment is at $1,618/st, more than double the HRC assessment.
Goncalves elaborated that his company's plate production will focus on military plate sales in the US and among US allies. Nucor has stated its new plate mill will be focused on the offshore wind power generation market, which is expected to grow in the coming years.
Goncalves added that he sees pricing in the plate market as being more sustainable because there are fewer participants in it than the flat-rolled market. The main companies producing plate in the US are Cliffs, Russian steelmaker Evraz, Indian steelmaker JSW, Nucor and Swedish steelmaker SSAB, which has two plates mills in the US.
Source:Argus Media
