Nucor to invest $40mn in Kankakee steel bar mill

US steelmaker Nucor will invest $40mn to build a new continuous casting machine at its Kankakee bar mill south of Chicago, Illinois.

The upgrade by the North Carolina-based steelmaker to its 675,000 t/yr (755,000 st/yr) facility, located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, is the latest at the bar mill.

Nucor is working to complete a 500,000st merchant bar quality (MBQ) mill at the Kankakee facility by the end of the year. That project is valued at $180mn.

Nucor's steel bar products shipments fell by 15pc in the second quarter to 2mn st from 2.4mn st in the second quarter of 2018. The decline in steel bar shipments led an overall drop in second quarter steel shipments for the company of 10pc to 5.8mn st.