Steel Mills
SDI presses on with steel, aluminum investments
Written by Laura Miller
October 17, 2024
Steel Dynamics Inc. remains optimistic about its prospects as it ramps up flat-rolled steel operations and prepares for the production of aluminum products next year.
Executives from the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker provided an update on the company’s operations on a conference call on Thursday held to discuss SDI’s third-quarter earnings results.
Flat-rolled steel segment
SDI’s Q3 shipments of flat-rolled steel inched 1% higher from the previous quarter to just under 2.4 million short tons (st). Compared to the year-ago quarter, flat rolled shipments were 7% higher.
During the quarter, the company shipped 942,000 st of hot-rolled steel, 118,000 st of cold-rolled sheet, and 1,335,000 st of coated products.
Sinton sheet mill
The Sinton, Texas, sheet mill has faced numerous challenges and outages. But it’s also seen significant improvements in reliability and utilization, executives on the call said.
SDI President and COO Barry Schneider said that, early in Q3, the Sinton team experienced some difficulty ramping back up after a four-day outage.
Sinton operated at 72% utilization in Q3. SDI expects that rate to increase to 75% in Q4 and to reach full production capacity in 2025.
New coating lines
SDI’s four new coating lines – two each at the mills in Sinton, Texas, and Terre Haute, Ind. – were successfully commissioned and have commenced operations.
All four of the new lines are operating at 65-75% of capacity, Schneider said on the call.
CEO Mark Millett added, “The volume throughput on those lines is a little inhibited right now because of the hot side not (being) at full capacity.”
At Sinton, “The additional lines really allow us to have a more efficient operation between our galvanized coatings and our Galvalume coatings,” Schneider said.
The new lines in Terre Haute are improving the facility’s reach into more markets. The Galvalume and prepaint offerings there have opened relationships with new, as well as existing, customers in that region, he said.
Aluminum – a new market for SDI
Next year, SDI will officially become a producer of flat-rolled aluminum products.
Millett said the company’s new facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, will start producing slabs in Q1’25.
And at the greenfield rolling operations in Columbus, Miss., SDI plans to commission the casthouse in Q1’25 and two downstream lines in Q2’25.
SDI expects commercial shipments at the facility, also known as Aluminum Dynamics Inc. (ADI), to begin in mid-2025. The company expects the rolling mill to reach 75% of its 650,000-metric-tons-per-year capacity by the end of 2026.
“The excitement within our company, and particularly at the ADI sites, continues to grow as our teams recognize their ability to help revolutionize the US aluminum industry, as they did in steel,” Millett said.
Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Steel Mills
CMC earnings slide, but still near top mark
CMC Fourth quarter ended Aug. 31 2024 2023 Change Net sales $1,996.1 $2,209.2 -9.6% Net income (loss) $103.9 $184.2 -43.6% Per diluted share $0.90 $1.56 -42.3% Full year ended Aug. 31 Net sales $7,925.9 $8,799.5 -9.9% Net income (loss) $485.5 $859.7 -43.5% Per diluted share $4.14 $7.25 -42.9% (in millions of dollars except per share) […]
SDI posts lower Q3 profit, sees better times in ’25
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) reported a drop in third-quarter profits driven largely by lower flat-rolled steel prices. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker also saw scrap prices slip. That happened because of softer demand from domestic mills taking planned maintenance outages.
Cliffs hosts fireside chat on industry, union, government collaboration
Cleveland-Cliffs’s Chairman, President, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves hosted a fireside chat with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on Friday at the company’s plate mill in Coatesville, Pa.
Nippon agrees to sell Calvert stake, if USS deal closes
ArcelorMittal is set to take full ownership of AM/NS Calvert if Nippon Steel finalizes its pending acquisition of U.S. Steel.