Nucor expects Q3 steel mill performance to decline

Nucor Corp., Charlotte, North Carolina, released guidance for its third quarter, ending Sept. 28. The company anticipates it will have decreased earnings for the third quarter of 2019.

The performance of the steel mills segment in the third quarter of 2019 is expected to decrease compared with the second quarter of 2019 due primarily to lower prices for sheet and plate steel, Nucor reports. “Although we still see stability in most of the end-use markets that we serve, there has been some softening in automotive, agricultural products and power transmission markets,” the company states in a news release about its third-quarter earnings report.

However, the profitability of Nucor’s steel products segment in the third quarter of 2019 is expected to improve as compared with the second quarter of 2019, as nonresidential construction market conditions remain strong. In addition, recently implemented efficiency initiatives in rebar fabrication and metal buildings are enhancing performance from those businesses, the company reports in a news release.

The performance of the raw materials segment is expected to decrease in the third quarter of 2019 as compared to the second quarter of 2019 due to further margin compression in the company’s direct reduced iron (DRI) businesses, Nucor reports. Last week, the company’s DRI facility in Louisiana began a planned outage that is expected to last until mid-November.