Nucor set to soon bring plenty of new capacity online

In 2024, Nucor spent ~$3.2 billion in total capex and $760 million on acquisitions, according to Leon Topalian, Nucor’s chair, president, and CEO. It also netted more than $2 billion total last year, according to its latest financials.

The capex budget for 2025 is also expected to be upward of $3 billion, with a host of major projects set to come online in the next few years.

While this is a period of very high capex for Nucor, Topalian reminded investors that they are coming off three of the best years in history, having made more money in those years than in the previous 20 combined. So, while free cash flow will be down, “We invested heavily for growth,” he noted, pointing to “the future earnings potential that will be unlocked in the coming years.”

Here’s a round-up of what Nucor’s bringing to the market this year and into 2026 and 2027.

Coming next year: New sheet supply out of West Virginia

Nucor made considerable headway in constructing its newest sheet mill in West Virginia last year. The site is now more than one-third of the way complete, according to EVP and CFO Steve Laxton.

Topalian highlighted the mill’s location, which will expand Nucor’s regional reach, and its capabilities, and will allow for the penetration of previously untapped end markets.

“The fastest growing and the largest sheet consuming region in the US is the Midwest and Northeast, and that is where our lowest market share of consumption is, and so the West Virginia mill sits incredibly well suited,” he commented.

He was optimistic that the mill’s cost profile would allow it to be “incredibly competitive” in the region.

Nucor will target the automotive, construction and industrial markets with the 3 million short tons per year (stpy) of sheet products produced at the mill.

It expects to commission the mill in Apple Grove, W.Va., by the end of 2026 and to ramp up shipments throughout 2027.

The W.Va. mill represents Nucor’s single largest capital investment to date. The company plans to spend $1.4 billion on the facility this year, with a total project spend of more than $3.1 billion once completed.

New galvanizing capacity hitting the market this year and next

Nucor is expanding its galvanizing capabilities, with plans to bring ~1.3 million st of annual capacity online by the end of 2027.

With the added capabilities, Nucor sees potential for growth within the automotive sector.

Crawfordsville, Ind., sheet mill

This year, the company plans to inject ~$150 million to bring a new galvanizing line and coating complex online at its sheet mill in Crawfordsville, Ind. When first announced in February 2022, Nucor had slated $290 million for the upgrade, with an anticipated two-year project timeline.

When finalized late this year, the expansion will add 300,000 stpy of construction-grade galvanizing capacity and 250,000 stpy of prepaint capabilities.

West Virginia sheet mill

Nucor’s plans for its newest sheet mill in West Virginia include two galvanizing lines with 500,000 stpy of automotive-grade coil capacity and 500,000 stpy of construction-grade coil capacity.

As mentioned above, the commissioning of the mill in Mason County is slated for late next year.

Berkeley sheet mill

A 500,000-stpy continuous galvanizing line at the Nucor Steel Berkeley sheet mill in Huger, S.C., is set to start up in mid-2026. Ground was broken on the expansion project in May last year.

The company has $150 million in this year’s capex budget for the new line, which will serve the automotive and consumer durables markets.

When the $425-million investment project was first announced in 2022, Nucor had hoped to start it up in mid-2025.

California Steel Industries joint venture

Nucor revealed late 2027 as the planned date for the startup of a construction-grade galvanizing line being added at its CSI joint venture in Fontana, Calif.

The 400,000-stpy line will increase CSI’s total hot-dip galvanizing capacity by 50% to 1.2 million stpy. The mill, owned 51% by Nucor and 49% by JFE, has a total sheet-making capacity of 2 million stpy. It doesn’t have melting capabilities but rerolls slabs into hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet products and ERW pipe.

Noah Hanners, EVP of raw materials, commented on the call that CSI’s strategy is similar to Nucor’s raw material strategy because they “enjoy wide flexibility” in supplying the mill. “We’ve taken up over the past year our supply of our substrate from our mills to that mill,” he noted.

Facing added competition in flat rolled

With the Trump administration’s America First policy pushing for manufacturers to build their products in the US, one prominent analyst probed the Nucor executives for their thoughts on foreign companies potentially building steel mills in the US. For example, it’s been reported that Hyundai is considering building a $6 billion sheet mill in Louisiana.

“The best will always win. … And Nucor’s had a long track record of winning,” Topalian stated. “We’re not going to shy away from any competition.”

Hanners added, “While the new capacity can be challenging in the near term, we expect in the longer term, we end with a healthier operating environment.”

“One thing to be thoughtful of is it really substantiates the shift we’re seeing in automotive demand to EAF supply,” he remarked.

Rebar investments come alive in 2025

Two key projects within the company’s bar group are on track to see construction finalized this year. Nucor plans to better serve infrastructure and construction customers in these regions.

A 430,000-stpy rebar micro mill in Lexington, N.C., is set for start-up in 2025. The $350-million project was first announced in 2022. A $20 million rebar fabrication facility adjacent to the mill is also slated for start-up this year.

Previously just a rolling mill, Nucor’s mill in Kingman, Ariz., will soon have melting capacity: An EAF melt shop supplied by Danieli will start up mid-year. The $100 million investment will provide the mill with an additional 600,000 st of annual capacity for the production of bar and wire products.

Overcapacity in rebar?

One analyst inquired if Nucor is reconsidering its plans for a new micro mill in the Pacific Northwest, given talk of a potential oversupply in the rebar market.

Topalian explained that the pause for due diligence “is more around what’s the right time in terms of our financial execution rather than a market worry” like the market shrinking or being oversaturated.

“The rebar market has evolved into a regional business,” noted Randy Spicer, EVP of bar and engineered bar. By installing micro mills in large rebar-consuming markets with access to an abundant scrap supply, Nucor is putting itself “in a very favorable, low-cost position with shorter lead times,” Spicer said.

“We anticipate a majority of the new domestic supply will be absorbed by the sustained growth and rebar demand, driven by continued infrastructure investment, reshoring of manufacturing, and the growth that’s required to overcome the current housing shortage,” he added.

Towers and Structures Division

Nucor launched its downstream Towers and Structures division in 2022 with the acquisition of Summit Utility Structures.

This year, the company will complete the construction of two highly automated tower manufacturing plants, first announced in December 2022.

Both plants are adjacent to Nucor’s sheet mills in Decatur, Ala., and Crawfordsville, Ind.

Earlier this month, the company announced it will build a third utility tower plant alongside its existing steel campus in Brigham City, Utah.

Construction on the two tower manufacturing plants will be completed this year. Ground will soon be broken on a third site in Utah, with completion planned for 2027.

Topalian highlighted on Tuesday’s call that the utility towers used in energy, data centers, and transmission sectors are unique and engineered specifically for its use: “There is no commodity; it is all value-engineered product.”

Once its three tower plants are up and running, “We will rival the top towers and transmission companies out there,” Topalian asserted.

Chad Utermark, EVP of new markets and innovation, disclosed that the three tower plants will consume about 130,000 st of steel plate from Nucor’s steel mills. “We feel really good about the synergies there,” Utermark said.

Topalian expects the towers segment to achieve at least $150 million in EBITDA annually.