CRU Consultant to Debate the Impact of New Steel Capacity

U.S. steelmakers have announced plans to reinvest their recent windfall profits in various mill upgrades and expansions, which in total could add 20 million tons of capacity to the market. How will all that new steelmaking capacity impact steel supplies and prices in the next five years? The experts disagree.

Some believe it’s inevitable that the additional capacity will oversupply the market and drive prices sharply downward. Others are less concerned about overcapacity and more concerned that these mill modernizations are long overdue if the U.S. steel industry is to remain globally competitive.