Steel tariffs: Some good news for
Florida’s construction industry with plans
for new $240 million Nucor rebar mill
Florida Construction News staff writer
What will the consequences be
from President Donald Trump’s steel
and aluminum tariffs for Florida’s
construction industry?
The answer: It depends, based on
your sector, reliance on steel and
from where the steel is imported, if
at all. In fact, if you are in central
Florida, the protectionist policies
may create business opportunities
for you.

Data indicates that Florida, de-
spite its large and growing construc-
tion industry and steel requirements,
will not be as badly affected as some
other states.

This in part is because Nucor is
building a $240 million rebar micro
mill in Frostproof, Polk County, a proj-
ect the steel maker originally an-
nounced in November 2017, but
confirmed in March when Trump an-
nounced the tariffs.

“Nucor has always focused on
growing our business to better serve
our customers,” John Ferriola, the
company’s president and CEO, said
in a statement. “We are building this
rebar micro mill in a great and grow-
ing market where demand is strong
and there is currently an abundant
supply of scrap, a good portion of
which is handled by our scrap busi-
ness.” “Consistent with our planned
strategy of being a low-cost pro-
ducer, this micro-mill will give us a
cost advantage over our competitors
who are shipping rebar into the re-
gion from long distances.

Nucor expects the mill, which will
employ about 2,500 workers, will
have an annual capacity of 350,000
tons on a 400-acre site on US 27.

“There hasn’t been a project of
this size in many years,” Sean Mal-
ott, executive director of the Central
Florida Development Council, was
quoted as saying in the local news-
10 – SPRING 2018 — Florida Construction News
paper, The Ledger. “This is the
biggest manufacturing property Polk
County has had the chance to com-
pete on.”
The Polk County Commission has
approved property tax and impact
fee breaks worth about $150 million.

Malott said Nucor officials were
looking for a site with more than 300
acres, railroad access, and access
near a major electricity substation
that could provide enough power to
operate the plant.

A Nucor spokesperson declined
to provide information about
how/whether the company is select-
ing design and engineering consult-
ants, or a general
contractor/construction manager,
saying simply: “Unfortunately, we do
not have additional details to share
at this time.”
Data from the Brookings Institu-
tion shows that Florida, despite its
size, does not have a disproportion-
ate share of steel and aluminium im-
ports. The list is topped by Missouri
(which is also getting a new Nucor
rebar mill), Louisiana, Connecticut,
Maryland and Arkansas.

On the other hand, the data indi-
cates that the number of workers di-
rectly employed in steel and
aluminum production in Florida, a
total of 1,803 (before the Nucor hir-
ings, of course) are dwarfed by the
194,655 workers employed in indus-
tries that use the metals.