Nucor to close Louisiana plant until raw materials prices improve

Steel producer Nucor has announced it will close its St. James Parish direct reduced iron facility in Baton Rouge, La., following scheduled maintenance and not reopen until prices for raw materials improve.

“Operating performance at the steel mills segment in the fourth quarter of 2015 is expected to decrease from the third quarter of 2015,” Nucor said in a news release. “Our sheet and bar steel mills in particular have experienced decreased margins as selling prices have eroded more than the decline in raw material pricing.”