As Hurricane Sandy pummeled through the East Coast this past week, it left destruction in its wake, destroying entire neighborhoods and leaving millions without power. States as far south as Virginia and as far north as Maine are now attempting to get back to some semblance of "business as usual." As the storm was anticipated to be the strongest to hit the northeast in recent history, many steel companies took precautions to try and ensure minimal impact to its operations and employees.
The American Iron and Steel Association's (AISI) Washington D.C. office was closed Monday and Tuesday and employees came back to work on Wednesday. Nucor temporarily shut down its Connecticut rebar and wire rod mill as a precaution according to sources, and so far no real damage has been reported.
Sources also told SteelOrbis that Evraz had to temporarily shut down its Claymont, Delaware plate mill and US Steel idled some of its operations in Philadelphia ahead of the storm.
In New Jersey, where much of the brunt of the storm was felt, Gerdau Long Steel North America's Sayresville mill halted production throughout the whole week, according to sources. Matawan, New Jersey-based steel trading company Duferco was also paralyzed by power outages caused by the storm.
Additionally, the northeast scrap export market was extremely quiet during the week as many ports, such as the ports of New York and New Jersey, were closed until further notice. The Port of Philadelphia also had to be closed ahead of the hurricane, but was able to reopen on late Tuesday afternoon.