Steel Mills

Nucor board OKs new rebar micro mill for Pacific Northwest

Written by Laura Miller

February 21, 2024

Nucor Corp. announced plans to build a new rebar micro mill in the Pacific Northwest.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said on Wednesday that its board approved $860 million for the construction of a 650,000-short-ton-per-year micro mill. The facility will produce a full range of rebar sizes and have spooling capabilities.

In October, Nucor said it was considering the Pacific Northwest for a new rebar micro mill.

Potential locations for the new mill are still being evaluated. Construction of the mill will take two years to complete, the company said.

Nucor currently operates 15 bar mills in the US, producing an array of bar products, including hot-rolled bar, rounds, light shapes, structural angles, channels, wire rod, and highway products. At the end of 2023, Nucor had approximately 9.6 million st of annual bar-making capacity.

The company has two rebar micro mills in Sedalia, Mo., and Frostproof, Fla., with a third currently under construction in Lexington, N.C.

“This new rebar micro mill in the Pacific Northwest will help Nucor maintain its leadership in the steel bar market and further execute our strategy to better serve our customers west of the Rocky Mountains, which also includes the addition of a melt shop at our Arizona bar mill,” commented Nucor’s chair, president, and CEO Leon Topalian in a statement on Wednesday.

He noted that rebar produced at Nucor’s micro mills is made from nearly 100% recycled scrap.

Nucor expects strong demand in the domestic rebar market to continue because of increasing government infrastructure investments.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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