Metals players batten down as Sandy rages

Oct 29, 2012 | 02:16 PM | Corinna Petry

Tags  Hurricane Sandy, Nucor, ArcelorMittal, Constellium, Metalico, Evraz, Allegheny Technology, U.S. Steel scrapyards

CHICAGO — The metals industry appeared to be well prepared Monday for the impact of Hurricane Sandy.

Ten states—Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia, along with the District of Columbia—had all declared a state of emergency as of Monday afternoon, with many shutting down highways and public transportation.

Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C., has shut down its Wallingford, Conn., rebar and wire rod mill as a precaution, president and chief operating officer John Ferriola told AMM Monday. "The only Nucor facility impacted is Connecticut. We shut it down as a precaution, for the safety of our teammates, at 7 p.m. Sunday," he said. "We will see if we can begin operations after the storm. We don’t expect other Nucor facilities to be impacted at all."

Tampa, Fla.-based Gerdau said it was temporarily idling its operations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia for the safety of its employees. The company said it plans to restart operations after the storm has passed and the public is able to travel safely on the roads, which is anticipated late Tuesday or Wednesday morning.

Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel Corp. said it had idled operations at its Fairless galvanizing operation near Philadelphia for the safety of its employees. "After the storm passes, we will monitor events in the area closely to determine when the facility can resume operations," the company said. "All other U. S. Steel operating facilities and business unit locations near the projected path of the storm are monitoring the situation closely and are prepared to take appropriate action as needed."....