Steel Mills

ArcelorMittal Mexico's Hot Strip Mill Ramping Up on Schedule
Written by David Schollaert
December 15, 2021
ArcelorMittal Mexico anticipates a run rate of roughly 70% by year’s end at its new hot strip mill in the Michoacan province.
Executives lauded the production ramp-up of the new 2.75-million-ton hot strip mill during the company’s earnings call late last week, noting the facility’s output could be around 1.50 to 1.75 million tons in 2022 at its steelmaking complex in Lazaro Cardenas.
“The ramp-up is progressing well,” said Genuino Christino, Arcelor’s executive VP and CFO. “Our expectation is that in the second half we should be reaching a 60% to 70% run rate.”
Due to the steadily increased run rate, the Luxembourg-based steelmaker anticipates a strong earnings contribution for the 2022 calendar year from the steelmaking complex.
“By the end of 2023, we should be really running full out,” added Christino. “We clearly expect good progress this year, good contribution, and then more in 2023.”
ArcelorMittal’s new hot strip mill is one of a several sheet capacity expansions underway 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 David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert
Read more from David SchollaertLatest in Steel Mills

Algoma sees narrower Q2 loss but feels tariff sting
Algoma Steel expects a narrower sequential loss in the second quarter, but the company continues to be impacted by the US tariff situation.

Nippon plans to double steel output at USS operations: Report
Now that it has acquired U.S. Steel, Nippon Steel is planning a significant expansion of its US operations, including the construction of a new mill and more than doubling its steel output.

Algoma fires up EAF steelmaking with first arc
Algoma Steel reached a milestone in its transformation from blast furnace to electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking, with its Unit One EAF achieving its first steel production this week.

Nucor holds HR list price at $910/ton
Nucor is keeping its list price for spot hot-rolled coil unchanged after last week’s shortened holiday week.

Cliffs unveils new hydrogen-powered stainless line in Ohio
CEO Lourenco Goncalves, flanked by state leaders and union reps, touted the project as proof that US manufacturing is not only alive, but also advancing.