August, 2026- "There is early evidence to suggest that in some industries, such as primary metals and machinery, U.S. manufacturing is ramping up and imports are declining,” according to a report published in May by McKinsey Global Institute, titled “Ramping up manufacturing in America?”
“Take iron and steel, [for which] U.S. imports in this sector fell by about 30 percent in the final quarter of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024,” the report states. “U.S. production of iron and steel rose by about 6 percent over the same period, driven mostly by a recovery in capacity utilization.
“Announced greenfield foreign direct investment into primary metals more than doubled in 2025 relative to the 2022-2024 average. U.S. construction value put in place for fabricated metals was up 50 percent in 2025 versus 2024 the largest year-on-year increase of any reported manufacturing sector,” McKinsey analysts wrote.
Over the past 12 months, Modern Metals has tracked a steady stream of investments, coming from a variety of sources, that goes toward the expansion of U.S. and Canadian metals production capacity. These projects come in all sizes and reach from West Virginia to California, from Quebec to Louisiana. Here, we’ll outline over a dozen of them in steel, aluminum, red metals and downstream activities.
STEEL
U.S. STEEL TO REVIVE MON VALLEY WORKS, INVEST IN IRON
In June, U.S. Steel Corp., now owned by Nippon Steel, discussed its planned investment of up to $2.5 billion in Mon Valley Works. The financing includes the construction of a hot strip mill at the Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pennsylvania. The new facility would replace an 87-yearold hot strip mill at the nearby Irvin Plant, which is slated for decommissioning. The new hot strip mill will expand the range of steel products Mon Valley Works can produce for automotive and other high-value markets.
“Mon Valley Works is where the American steel industry was first forged,” said U.S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt. “This investment means thousands of goodpaying jobs protected, a world-class facility and steel that will supply American automakers and manufacturers for generations.”
Down in Osceola, Arkansas, also in June, U.S. Steel selected Midrex Technologies Inc. to build its $1.9 billion, 2.5-million-metric tons per year HDRI/HBI plant for a new directreduced iron (DRI) facility at Big River Steel Works. The first iron pellets should be produced in 2029. The Big River facility will leverage U.S. Steel’s 2022 investment into direct reduced-grade pellet capabilities at its Minnesota Ore Operations Keetac plant, creating a direct link between its mining operations, EAF feedstock creation, and steel production in Arkansas.
KOREAN STEEL, AUTO COMPANIES TO BUILD MILL IN LOUISIANA
POSCO Holdings and Hyundai Automotive Group are building an electric arc furnace steel mill in Louisiana, citing the need “to respond to changes in the North American steel market and to secure a foundation for sustainable automotive steel production,” POSCO disclosed through a filing late last year with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Hyundai‑POSCO Louisiana Steel LLC announced in May that it had chosen Danieli S.p.A. as its technology partner for the construction of its new integrated steel plant, which will produce hot‑rolled slabs, primarily intended for low‑carbon, high value‑added automotive steel grades for the North American market. Danieli will supply EAFs with secondary metallurgy, two thick-slab casters and two slab reheating furnaces. In addition, Hyundai-POSCO selected the EnergIron consortium (run by Danieli and Tenova) to build a 2.5-million-ton direct-reduced iron plant. The melt shop will feed the casting area at a production rate of 2.88 million tons per year.
NUCOR COMMISSIONING SHEET MILL, COATING LINE
Nucor Corp. reported, in its summer update to investors, that its West Virginia mill project was progressing on time and on budget, at $4 billion. Commissioning is occurring throughout 2026. Pickle line commissioning is underway, and additional equipment commissioning was to begin over summer and continue through fourth quarter. Production is expected to begin next year “with an intentional, multi-phased ramp to full run rate. Capacity utilization and product capabilities will expand through 2027 and 2028,” the company said. The sequencing of equipment commissioning began with the pickle line, moved on to the automotive galvanizing line and melt shop during summer; with the cold mill, hot mill and construction galvanizing line starting up in autumn through year end. Nucor is also building a second 500,000-ton-per-year galvanizing line in Berkeley, South Carolina. Expected to start up this fall, the coating line will serve primarily automotive customers.
PIPE MAKER SCORES GOVERNMENT FINANCING
Tenaris won a CAD $300 million investment from the federal and Ontario governments into its Sault Ste. Marie Industrial Centre. “Tenaris steel pipes, manufactured in Ontario and delivered through our Rig Direct service network to oil and gas operators across the country, enable Canadian energy sovereignty,” Martín Castro, President of Tenaris in Canada, said in May. This infusion of cash “builds on the momentum to expand Canada’s domestic supply chain for OCTG and line pipe.”
These upgrades will strengthen steel pipe production in Ontario to meet growing demand for a reliable domestic supply of high-performance OCTG covering the steel grade range required for Canada’s oil and gas industry, especially shale, thermal and offshore drilling applications, Tenaris reported.
COLORADO LONG-RAIL MILL TO START UP
Rocky Mountain Steel Mills will begin operations this year at its new $1 billion rail mill in Pueblo, Colorado. Doug Matthews, CEO of parent company Orion Steel, called the new plant “an essential part of America’s steel transportation infrastructure.” The new mill will produce 328-foot lengths of premium rail, which requires 80 percent fewer welds than standard 80-foot-long rails. That represents higher efficiency for railroads.
FORGING COMPANY TO BUILD IN NORTH CAROLINA
US Forged Rings in February committed $875 million to building a production plant for specialty steel products and large-scale industrial components in Hertford County, North Carolina. Its specialty steel forgings and large-diameter fabricated components are used in such sectors as power generation and industrial infrastructure. “This investment represents an important step in our mission to strengthen American manufacturing capability in critical steel products,” said Giacomo Pozzi, president and CEO.
CALIFORNIA MICRO MILL TO PRODUCE REBAR
Pacific Steel Group is building a rebar micro mill in the Mojave Desert. It will be the first steel mill built in California in 50 years. Once operational, the Mojave Micro Mill will produce hundreds of thousands of tons of rebar annually within California, create over 400 jobs and reduce emissions by localizing steel production and using recycled scrap metal sourced in state.
ANNOUNCED 2025 & 2026
CAPITAL PROJECTS
ALUMINUM
DOE INVESTS IN OKLAHOMA SMELTER
Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) plan to build a primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma. The project is supported through a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Once complete, the plant will be the largest- ever primary aluminum production plant in the U.S., with the potential to produce over 500,000 tons of high-quality primary aluminum per year, including 20,000 tons of high-purity aluminum suitable for national defense applications. In 2025, DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations awarded $500 million to push forward construction of the first new primary aluminum smelter in the United States since 1980. This project demonstrates the economic viability of domestic smelting and reduces dependence on foreign imports.
Century CEO Jesse Gary said that by establishing an aluminum hub in Oklahoma, “we are strengthening and shortening the supply chain for a critical metal that supports American industries.”
Construction was expected to begin by the end of 2026, with first primary aluminum production by the end of the decade. EGA and Century are developing the project in partnership, with EGA holding 60 percent and Century 40 percent.
ALUMINUM DYNAMICS
COMMISSIONING CONTINUES
“The aluminum team continues to make progress commissioning the company’s Columbus, Mississippi, aluminum flat-rolled products mill, as well as the San Luis Potosi, Mexico, satellite recycled aluminum slab center,” Mark D. Millett, chairman and CEO of Steel Dynamics Inc., told investors in April. He was speaking of SDI’s Aluminum Dynamics subsidiary. “Two of the three planned cold mills are ramping operations and producing prime products, with the third cold mill scheduled to commission in the third quarter 2026,” said Millett.
Additionally, the first of two planned continuous annealing and solution heat treatment (CASH) lines, meant to produce finished automotive products, is now operational and has produced qualification material for automotive customers. “The second CASH line is also expected to commission in the third quarter 2026,” Millett said.
CANADIAN GOVERNMENT INVESTS IN ELYSIS
Canada’s Economic Development for Quebec Regions agency is investing CAD $100 million in the Elysis technology deployment project. This supports Rio Tinto Alcan’s $440 million project to start up a demonstration plant for the Elysis aluminum electrolysis technology. This investment will help Rio Tinto advance the development and future commercialization of the Elysis emissions-free aluminum smelting technology. Through this demonstration plant, “Rio Tinto is developing lowcarbon solutions to help secure the Canadian aluminum industry’s future for the next 100 years,” stated Jérôme Pécresse, CEO of aluminum and lithium at Rio Tinto.
COPPER
WIELAND CHASE EXPANDING IN OHIO
Wieland Chase is building a new plant to produce semi-finished brass and copper long products in Montpelier, Ohio, which provides additional capacity for ammunition ordnance wire manufacturing. President Thomas Christie said the goal is to position Wieland Chase “as a significant supplier of brass wire in North America and to expand Wieland’s capabilities to service the full breadth of products to the ammunition market.” Initial operations of the multi-phase project will begin in spring 2027, with the remaining phases wrapping up by 2031.
MANUFACTURER BUILDS DOMESTIC SUPPLY CHAIN
Red Metals will establish its first copper manufacturing operation in North Charleston, South Carolina. Spending $70 million, Red Metals is building a new domestic supply chain for copper products by converting copper raw materials directly into finished goods through an integrated refining and manufacturing process. The new 42,000-square-foot facility will manufacture high-conductivity copper rod used in wire, cable and other electrical applications. The operation is designed to strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity and deliver essential copper products with shorter lead times and reduced supply chain complexity. Operations are expected to come online during the fourth quarter of 2026.
DOWNSTREAM
CONTRACT MANUFACTURER EXPANDS
American Steel and Aluminum (ASA), a vertically integrated contract manufacturer, opened a 50,000-square-foot facility in Syracuse, New York, in May. The purpose was to add manufacturing and processing capacity to meet accelerating demand from customers in data center infrastructure, defense, renewable energy and general manufacturing. ASA President Sam Blatchford said, “This expansion is a direct response to what we’re hearing from the market. Our customers in data centers, defense and energy are scaling fast, and they need a domestic manufacturer who can scale with them.”
CANADIAN METALFORMER ESTABLISHES U.S. SITE
Metal Craft Spinning and Stamping, a fourth-generation family-owned precision metal former based in Etobicoke, Ontario, opened a branch in Niagara Falls, New York, in May. The expansion reflects the company’s effort to reduce lead times and logistical complexity for U.S.-based clients in such sectors as roofing, HVAC, commercial lighting, construction, furniture and industrial manufacturing.
FOUNDRY TO CREATE MORE IN-HOUSE CAPABILITIES
Acra Cast Inc., a foundry, will expand its footprint in Bay City, Michigan. The expansion plans include providing more in-house capabilities. “Over the last seven years, we’ve increased our annual sales by 500 percent as more emphasis is being placed on American-made manufacturing,” said Acra Cast President Richard Singer. “With that growth comes an increased traffic load in and out of our facility.”
Each of these investments tell us that automotive, construction, energy, transportation and a host of other metals-consuming industries continue to increase their revenues and profits, and want to ensure that their raw materials suppliers are located practically at their back doors.
