JSW Opens March Order Book at Mingo Junction

The Ohio mill will sell both hot-rolled coil and slab, he said.

Bush confirmed in early January that Mingo Junction was recalling workers.

It had been taken offline in 2020 after the COVID-19 outbreak spurred a collapse in steel demand. JSW used the downtime to upgrade the mill’s electric-arc furnace and caster.

The Mingo Junction mill’s EAF has annual capacity of 1.5 million tons per year, according to the Association for Iron and Steel Technology’s 2020 directory of iron and steel plants. It also sports a ladle metallurgy furnace, a slab caster and an 80-inch hot-strip mill, according to the company’s website.

Steel buyers have been eager to see more tons available in the market after a supply squeeze extended spot market lead times and sent U.S. hot-rolled coil prices to their highest point ever.

Steel Market Update’s average hot-rolled coil price was at $1,140 per ton ($57/cwt) when this article was filed, up 159% from a 2020 low of $440 per ton last August and up 6.5% from a 2008 peak of $1,070 per ton.

But some sources fear that increased supply resulting from the restart of idled blast furnace capacity, new flat-rolled EAF mills coming online, and increased imports could send prices sharply lower later this year.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com