Steel Mills
July 23, 2015
Ferriola Feeling Good About Trade Legislation
Written by Sandy Williams
Nucor Corporation announced net earnings of $124.8 million for second quarter. Sales of $4.36 billion were down 1 percent from Q1 and 18 percent from Q2 2014. Total tons shipped increased by 5 percent from first quarter to 6,055,000 tons but were down 13 percent year over year. Imports pressured average sales price per ton, decreasing 8 percent from the first quarter of 2015 and 13 percent from the second quarter of 2014.
Commenting on second quarter results, President and CEO John Ferriola said, “The performance of the steel mills segment in the second quarter of 2015 decreased from the first quarter of 2015. Pricing has begun to stabilize, but we experienced some margin erosion as the steel mills worked through higher cost scrap, work-in-process and finished goods inventories. Pricing remains under pressure from exceptionally high levels of imports. Imports accounted for an estimated 32% of the finished steel market in the first six months of 2015, compared with an estimated 27% in the first six months of 2014. The biggest factors driving these exceptionally high levels of imports are the trade-distorting practices of some foreign governments.
