Steel Mills
NLMK Says U.S. Division at Risk from Tariffs
Written by Sandy Williams
May 6, 2018
Russian steelmaker NLMK says it may have to close its U.S. division if it does not receive an exemption from the 25 percent steel tariff.
NLMK USA depends on slab shipments from Russia and cannot source enough slabs in the U.S. to maintain its operations.
“Without exclusion for semi-finished steel slabs, the tariffs will have the perverse effect of killing U.S. steelmaking jobs and potentially putting our company out of business,” said NLMK USA CEO Robert Miller in a letter to Commerce dated March 23, 2018.
“NLMK USA has made numerous attempts to secure slabs domestically, with little success. Between 2016-2017, NLMK Pennsylvania was only able to secure 2 percent of total receipts domestically and was forced to import the remaining amount,” said Miller.
Miller said the company had planned to double its U.S. investment, adding another $664 million between now and 2022. Those plans are now on hold and dependent on the outcome of the exclusion process, he said.
The U.S. operations are comprised of NLMK Indiana, NLMK Pennsylvania, and Sharon Coating and produces slabs, HRC, CRC and HDG. NLMK has steelmaking capacity of about 800,000 metric tons and rolling capacity of around 2.9 million MT. The U.S. division imports more than 2 million MT of slabs annually, with 90 percent of it from its Russian parent.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
USW seeks clarity on USS plans for Granite City Works
The United Steelworkers union has asked U.S. Steel to elaborate on its Granite City Works plans following reports that the steelmaker is ending processing at the facility.
Nucor maintains plate prices, opens October order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat for a seventh straight month with the opening of its October order book.
ArcelorMittal Mexico to import from sister mills as it works to resume DRI production
ArcelorMittal has partially restarted operations at its direct reduction plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. An explosion on Aug. 18 rocked the massive steelworks on Mexico’s Pacific coast, impacting production of direct-reduced iron (DRI).
Fall maintenance outages are coming in hot
Labor Day has passed, the sun is starting to set a little earlier each day, and cooler weather has begun to find its way down to many of us across North America. And you know what that means for the steel industry… Fall maintenance outages!
AISI: Domestic steel production ticks up
US raw steel production ticked up in the week ending on Sept. 6 after a decrease the week before, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).