Nucor budgets $860M for 650K-tpy rebar mill in Pacific Northwest

Sources: Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C.; CP staff

The Nucor Board of Directors has approved an $860 million outlay to construct a 650,000-tons-per-year rebar micro mill in the Pacific Northwest. Equipped for a full range of concrete rebar sizes and spooling capabilities, the facility will be the producer’s fourth and largest such operation, with approximately 50 percent more capacity than a mill currently under construction in North Carolina. Nucor continues to evaluate potential locations in the Pacific Northwest region and projects a two-year window for facility construction.

“The rebar we produce at our micro mills is made from nearly 100 percent recycled scrap, making it some of the cleanest steel made anywhere in the world,” says Nucor Chair and CEO Leon Topalian. “This new 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 customers west of the Rocky Mountains, which also includes the addition of a melt shop at our Arizona bar mill.”

With the increase in U.S. infrastructure investments, he adds, the domestic rebar market is expected to show continued strength. Nucor currently has 15 bar mills strategically located across the United States and approaching 10 million tons per year capacity. They net a broad range of steel products, including concrete reinforcing or hot-rolled bars, rounds, light shapes, structural angles, channels, wire rod and highway products in carbon and alloy steels.