Steel Mills
ArcelorMittal Mexico Makes First Coil from New Hot Strip Mill
Written by Michael Cowden
December 15, 2021
ArcelorMittal Mexico has made the first coil from the new hot strip at its steelmaking complex in Lazaro Cardenas, a port city in Mexico’s Michoacan province.
Company spokespeople did not respond to requests for confirmation from Steel Market Update. But the moment was celebrated on social media by ArcelorMittal employees and executives.
One example: “Congratulations to ArcelorMittal Mexico. Production of the first coil from our new hot strip mill in. Amazing work,” Olivier Vassart, chief executive officer of the Luxembourg-based steelmaker’s Steligence® division, wrote in a LinkedIn post.
The development was not unexpected. ArcelorMittal executives said during an earnings conference call last month that the new hot strip mill, announced four years ago, was nearing completion and that the project would be finished before the end of the year.
The new hot strip mill will give ArcelorMittal additional capacity of approximately 2.75 million short tons (2.5 million metric tonnes). It is one of a host of sheet capacity expansions taking place in North America.
Details on that new capacity can be found on SMU’s new capacity table. The more than 20 million tons of new capacity displayed there should be read in conjunction with SMU’s blast furnace status table. The latter provides some important context: how much integrated capacity has been idled over the last decade.
By the way, here is that first coil:
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills
Nucor lowers 2024 output estimate for Brandenburg plate mill
Nucor has lowered the 2024 production estimate for its Brandenburg, Ky., plate mill due to soft market conditions.
SSAB adjusts output in weak Q3, readies for Q4 rebound
SSAB said lower plate prices in the US were the primary reason for reduced results in the second quarter. With a dismal Q3 outlook, the Swedish steelmaker is adjusting production across its facilities. That includes moving up its annual US mill outage in anticipation of a better Q4. SSAB Americas Revenues in the Americas segment […]
Topalian puts focus on “unfair” trade, eyes USMCA partners
Nucor’s top executive expressed concerns over unfair trade practices, highlighting increased steel imports from Mexico and Canada.
Cliffs sees close of Stelco buy, bottom to steel tags, and Mexico out of USMCA
Cleveland-Cliffs expects its acquisition of Canada’s Stelco to close later this year, which will help the the Cleveland-based steelmaker as a bottom to steel tags nears.
Nucor posts lower Q2 earnings, predicts tough Q3 too
Nucor recording lower second quarter earnings on falling steel prices. And the Charlotte, N.C.-based predicted that profits would be lower still in the third quarter, primarily because of weaker results from its steel mills divisions.