During the Steel Success Strategies conference taking place in New York on June 20-22, executives of Russian steelmaker Severstal stated that investments are likely to be made in the US steel industry in the coming years due to demand from a growing population and advantages in infrastructure and raw materials.
Although recent signs of a slowdown in US hiring and manufacturing activity created a vague near-term growth outlook for the country, Severstal chief executive Alexei Mordashov underlined that he still believes in the US steel industry.
Severstal in May sold three unprofitable US steel plants to Renco Group Inc., reducing the company's North American capacity by half.
Sergei Kuznetsov, chief executive of Severstal's North American unit, said that this decision made them a stronger company.
Severstal NA is also increasing capacity at its Mississippi plant to meet the growing demand for automotive and pipe consumers in the southern US. Accordingly, the total capacity of Severstal NA will reach 5.5 million mt.