The galvanizing line at electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Big River Steel was damaged after the mill suffered a power outage on the evening of 30 August.
A substation failure cut power at the Arkansas mill for 24 hours. When power was restored, all operations resumed normally except at the 550,000 short ton (st)/yr galvanizing line, which suffered its own electrical failure. Repairs will take between 10 and 14 days to complete, and Big River has moved up its annual maintenance that was originally planned for late-October.
Lead times in the galvanized market have moved out to 9-12 weeks in the US for the week ending 1 September, compared to 6-8 weeks in the prior week as automakers, who consume large amounts of galvanized steel, raised production closer to pre-Covid-19 levels. The US auto industry has been in a race to refill dealerships left depleted after a nearly two month auto plant shutdown from mid-March to mid-May. Construction demand, another major consumer of galvanized steel, has remained strong despite coronavirus-related economic impacts.
Since the beginning of August, the Argus hot-dipped galvanzied (HDG) coil assessment has increased by 14pc to $720/st. In the same period the hot-rolled coil (HRC) assessment has increased by 16pc to $520/st, while lead times have extended to 7-8 weeks.
