Steel Products

JSW Restarts Texas Plate and Pipe Mill Ahead of Schedule: CEO

Written by Michael Cowden

February 25, 2021

JSW Steel USA resumed operations at its Baytown, Texas, plate and pipe mill on Feb. 25–earlier than expected, the company’s top executive said.

And the steelmaker remains on track to begin melting at its electric-arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio, in March, JSW Steel USA CEO Mark Bush told Steel Market Update.

JSW USA

“We restarted our Baytown, Texas, facility today, ahead of schedule,” Bush said. “I am proud of the entire JSW Steel USA team for how diligently and safely they have worked over the past months to bring our facilities back online.

“This is an exciting time within our company and our industry,” he said. “The JSW Steel team is looking forward to re-entering the market and supporting our customers.”

JSW Steel USA idled its Mingo Junction and Baytown mills in 2020 in response to poor market demand following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also took the downtime to make upgrades to the Ohio mill’s EAF and caster.

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The company had initially expected to restart both plants in March.

The Baytown mill makes plate, some of which it sells to third parties and some of which it uses to feed its large-diameter pipe mill. It does not have melting capability.

The Mingo Junction mill makes slab and hot-rolled coil. Its EAF has a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year, according to the Association for Iron & Steel Technology’s 2021 Directory of Iron and Steel Plants.

Steel Market Update’s average plate price stands at $1,070 per ton ($53.50/cwt), up nearly 6% from $1,010 per ton a month ago and up 22% from $875 per ton at the beginning of the year.

SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price is at $1,210 per ton–an all-time high. It is also up 7% from $1,130 per ton a month ago and up 23% from $985 per ton at the beginning of the year.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is managing editor for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He has since 2014 specialized in flat-rolled steel but has previously reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube as well as aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago - where he was involved in launching AMM's daily hot-rolled coil index, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

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