Commercial Metals Company today announced the closure of its fence post operations in Magnolia, Arkansas. Production will be relocated to the San Marcos, Texas fence post production facility, as operations in Magnolia wind down and cease in their entirety by the end of the company's third fiscal quarter. Customers will not be impacted by this decision, the company said in a statement.
In addition, CMC Steel Arkansas, a rerolling mill operated in Magnolia, Arkansas since 1987, will significantly reduce production levels over the same time period. These decisions are primarily the result of what CMC believes to be unfairly traded and illegally dumped steel products entering the US market. The decision to consolidate production in Texas reflects the impact of unfair trade on several plants and products. Approximately 40 employees are being impacted by the closure.
"It is always a difficult decision to curtail operations which affect our employment levels and the community at large. The issue of global steel overcapacity is having real impacts on people and communities across the country. We have been working tirelessly to address these issues with the US Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission. Unfortunately the actions taken to date by the U.S. government have not been effective, and we continue to see excessive quantities of unfairly traded steel entering the US market. This ineffectiveness has now taken a real toll in Magnolia," commented Tracy Porter, President CMC Americas.
"It is always a difficult decision to curtail operations which affect our employment levels and the community at large. The issue of global steel overcapacity is having real impacts on people and communities across the country. We have been working tirelessly to address these issues with the US Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission. Unfortunately the actions taken to date by the U.S. government have not been effective, and we continue to see excessive quantities of unfairly traded steel entering the US market. This ineffectiveness has now taken a real toll in Magnolia," commented Tracy Porter, President CMC Americas.