ArcelorMittal considering Alabama expansion

Global steelmaker ArcelorMittal has indicated to investors that additional capital expenditure projects in the United States could be on its near-term agenda.

In a presentation accompanying its 2023 year-end and fourth quarter results, the Luxembourg-based company indicates its 1.5 million tons per year electric arc furnace (EAF) mill under construction in Calvert, Alabama, is expected to be complete in the second half of this year.

Additionally, ArcelorMittal says it is studying an option to add a second 1.5 million-ton EAF at a lower capex intensity.

West of its EAF complex in Alabama, ArcelorMittal notes it also plans to double capacity at its Texas hot briquetted iron scrap alternative production plant in Corpus Christi, Texas.

That facility was acquired by ArcelorMittal from Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine in 2022. ArcelorMittal says the Texas HBI plant hit production records in 2023, helping lead to its plans to double capacity there.

While steelmaking conditions in Europe helped create red ink for ArcelorMittal in the second half of last year and reported challenges for United Kingdom-based Liberty Steel on the continent, North America is gaining favor as an operating site.

“The U.S. [and the broader U.S.-Mexico-Canada, or USMCA region] is a strategic growth focus for ArcelorMittal,” the firm says in its early February investment presentation.

“Growth and investment are being supported by favorable domestic policies [that] promote domestic industry and [the] competitiveness of domestic manufacturing."

In Europe and Canada, ArcelorMittal has had success lining up funding to bolster its presence in the EAF sector, as its embarks on blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace-to-EAF conversion projects in Canada, France and Spain and invests to upgrade its EAF mill in Luxembourg.

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Also in Europe, the company indicates it is investing and developing its scrap recycling and collection capabilities, with the company establishing about 1 million tons of  steel scrap processing capacity through acquisitions in the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands.

ArcelorMittal says the investments and capital expenditures on both continents are part of its effort to lead the market in low-emissions steel solutions.