Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor Corporation announced Thursday net earnings of $299.8 million in Q2 2011, compared to $159.8 million in the previous quarter and earnings of $91 million in Q2 2010. Nucor's Chairman and CEO Dan DiMicco said that the surge in profits was in spite of "rebalancing by our customers of supply chain inventories," as well as a number of natural disasters in the past couple months.
As a result of the tornados in late-April and flooding in the Midwest and the South, overall capacity utilization rates across Nucor's steel mills fell to an average of 71 percent in Q2, down from about 80 percent during Q1. The most significant effect to production was a 29-day outage of Nucor's Decatur, Alabama sheet mill, as well as some temporary production disruptions to Nucor's Tuscaloosa, Alabama plate mill.
Nonetheless, on a quarterly basis, net sales across all product lines rose 6 percent to $5.11 billion, and 22 percent compared to Q2 2010. Average sales prices per ton also increased 13 percent from Q1 and 21 percent over Q2 2010. Total tons shipped to outside customers, however, were 5,598,000 nt in Q2 2011, a decrease of 6 percent compared to Q1, and a slight 1 percent increase over Q2 2010. So far in 2011, Nucor's consolidated net sales increased 27 percent to $9.94 billion, and average sales prices per ton were up 21 percent.
Additionally, during the conference call, DiMicco alluded to the current US government deficit talks. DiMicco adamantly stated that the "nation has failed to offer solutions to our depressing economy," and that leaders need to focus on real solutions that eliminate structural inefficiencies, and create "jobs, jobs, jobs." "It is time to stop fiddling, and time to start doing the right things," added DiMicco.