Eastern Railroad Discussion > Hyundai considering large new steel mill in US

Hyundai Steel, part of Hyundai Motor Group, is said to be looking at sites to build a large (up to $7 billion) steel mill in the US to supply its expanding US operations. They have 3 large auto production assembly sites in the US already and want to "vertcalize" (stablilize) their production supply chain regionally by producing their own steel for use in their own factories, as well as sell in the open market. Producing steel locally would also reduce risk of possible tariff and import troubles moving forward, and help the Hyundai/Kia nameplates to qualify for any US EV tax credits.

The leading candidate for location is Ascension Parish near New Orleans, and depending on which side of the Mississippi River the plant would be built, it could be served by UP (on the west side) or CPKC and CN on the east side. The new plant would include a DRI-EAF steel operation (obviously no coal and blast furnaces), no doubt bringing the ore in on ocean vessels to be reduced and processed into mostly automotive sheet steel, as well as other products. It could produce several million tons per year, and easily supply their own vehicle production (1.2 million units per year capacity) and future growth, as well as supply other automotive end users. Other location sites are said to be Georgia and Texas but apparently sizable tax cuts are offered in Lousiana.

Actual building remains to be seen, but a decsion could be made in the next month. Rail benefits would also remain to be seen, although any project of this size would be a boon to the connecting road. As stated, iron ore would likely be imported by ship like Nucor does for their nearby DRI plant, but outbound shipments of coil to assembly locations would be nice traffic for NS and CSX. Scrap flows would also likely include rail and barge along the river, and other outbound shipments to US customers (possible HBI and other steel products) could surely go by rail. A new steel mill these days though is not like your father's steel mill, with much lower inbound traffic especially. However, the Baton Rouge-New Orleans region has become quite the industrial powerhouse nowadays, and this would be the biggest project the area has maybe ever seen. If interested, read more here:

https://www.kedglobal.com/steel/newsView/ked202501070011

JG



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/25 09:58 by jgilmore.

Louisiana seems bit out of the way with the auto Assembly plants in Alabama and Georgia.

I guess the main fuel would be natural gas, and Louisiana certainly certainly has an advantage with that resource.

It will be interesting what site is chosen.

I would have a better understanding if you defined tha acronyms.  I would guess that EAF is Electric Arc Furnace but the other one is a mystery.

With the American car makers actually giving up making 'cars', we invited these foreign companies to sell to us. Kind of sad, however with this size of an operation located on US soil, it would no doubt provide a lot of jobs to Americans, and we could certainly use some of that.

Posted from Android

railstiesballast Wrote:
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> I would have a better understanding if you defined
> tha acronyms.  I would guess that EAF is Electric
> Arc Furnace but the other one is a mystery.

DRI - direct reduced iron

railstiesballast Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would have a better understanding if you defined
> tha acronyms.  I would guess that EAF is Electric
> Arc Furnace but the other one is a mystery.

Yes, DRI is direct-reduced iron, made in a vessel that partially reduces the iron but not quite as much as a traditional blast furnace. But not using coal and very little pollution. Nucor has one nearby in St. James Parish, Cliffs has another one in Toledo and ArcelorMittal has one in TX*, but no others exist in the US although they will be an increasing part of steelmaking moving forward. Also, the end product is hot-briquetted iron (HBI), which is then transported to the electric furnace and further refined into steel. It can also be stored or shipped to another location or user.

I surmise that the cheap local natural gas is a big factor in location selection, as well as river access for shipping. Nothing like keeping the rails honest and keeping your options open, esp. for a major input like iron ore. That's also a main reason why most of the remaining blast furnaces in this country are along the Great Lakes, and where they will make their last stand in the future. 

JG

*Edit: Forgot about the large, new ArcelorMittal large DRI plant at Corpus Christi, so 3 total now operating in the US.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/25 20:58 by jgilmore.

Isn't there a large Steel Mill being built in the Charleston, WV area? 
Is it EAF?

I could be wrong, but I thought the Algoma Steel plant in SSM, Ont was also building a DRI facility. I know they aren't in the US, but its visible from the US side of the Sault Looks / St. Mary's River. I know they are converting from traditional blast furance operations to EAF in the near future. 
 

pt199 Wrote:
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> Isn't there a large Steel Mill being built in the
> Charleston, WV area? 
> Is it EAF?

Apple Grove, WV, near Point Pleasant. To be served by CSX I believe, and yes, a new EAF sheet mill.

JG

chapmaja Wrote:
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> I could be wrong, but I thought the Algoma Steel
> plant in SSM, Ont was also building a DRI
> facility. I know they aren't in the US, but its
> visible from the US side of the Sault Looks / St.
> Mary's River. I know they are converting from
> traditional blast furance operations to EAF in the
> near future. 

Yes, the dual-EAF project is on track and will start fairly soon. However, right now there is no DRI facility planned at SSM, but they could always build one the future or buy HBI from others, and DRI-grade taconite pellets, with their higher iron content, could also be used if they chose to. Cliffs and USS now both have DRI-grade pellets for their own use and could sell to the many new EAFs coming online in the North American market. Time will tell...

JG



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/25 22:57 by jgilmore.

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> With the American car makers actually giving up
> making 'cars', we invited these foreign companies
> to sell to us. Kind of sad, however with this
> size of an operation located on US soil, it would
> no doubt provide a lot of jobs to Americans, and
> we could certainly use some of that.
>
> Posted from Android

Its capitalism. American companies sell their products, from cars to Coca Cola all around the world. So why shouldn’t it work in reverse? Americans have been buying cars from foreign automakers for literally more than 50 years and most of them have plants hare already. All the better it they want to invest in making their steel on shore.

Posted from iPhone

My Nissan Frontier was built in Canton Mississippi...has a considerable amount of US content. 

I don't believe DRI can direct charge an electric arc furnace. Doesn't it have to be the HBI briquettes? Also where off shore will they buy HBI??
EAF furnaces will also need quality scrap.

My Honda Civic was built in Marysville, Ohio.  As I recall, it was 55 - 60% domestic parts content.

The Chrysler Ram 1500 truck has 70% US parts content.  30% foreign.

The Ford F-150 with the 3.5L Eco-Boost came in at 52%.  Lower than the Toyota Tundra and other "foreign" cars.  Other Ford F-150 models came in at the 65% range, depending on engine selected

CP8888 Wrote:
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> I don't believe DRI can direct charge an electric
> arc furnace. Doesn't it have to be the HBI
> briquettes? Also where off shore will they buy
> HBI??
> EAF furnaces will also need quality scrap.

Trying to find that answer. I believe DRI can direct charge an electric arc furnace, preferably while it is steel hot:

_11_ DRI in EAF Fact Sheet V2.pdf

HBI is best if the material is to be shipped or stored.

UP does not serve the east side of the river in Ascension Parish, they don't go south of Baton Rouge.  CN and CP are on the east bank.

There have been no new blast furnaces
in the US for ... 60+ years?

timz Wrote:
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> There have been no new blast furnaces
> in the US for ... 60+ years?

1979, Indiana Harbor #7 (formerly Inland Steel), still in use for Cliffs...

JG

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> The Chrysler Ram 1500 truck has 70% US parts

That the now discontinued Ram 1500 Classic. The current Ram in much lower. Plus Stelantis is NOT an American based company. Funny the people who argue a Mexican built vehicle with Dodge or. Ram on hood is ‘Murican while an Indiana built Toyota us Fur’in.

US based Tesla hold the number 1,4,9, and 21 spots on the board. Jeep Gladiator is 8 and Ram 1500 Classic is 19 (and like I said, they are not US based). No other US nameplate is in top 20. The most American car from an American name plate is the Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon coming in at 23rd for most US/Canada part content.

Posted from iPhone