President Donald Trump singled out a new steel mill project in Texas during the signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade pact last Wednesday.
Trump cited the Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) project in Sinton as an example of more manufacturing jobs returning to the U.S.
“Steel Dynamics is building a $1.9 billion flat roll steel mill near Corpus Christi,” Trump said during the ceremony. “And international automakers are pouring $25 billion into the United States, creating 50,000 new American jobs at a minimum. They are all investing in a future where we buy, hire and drive American cars again.”
Fort Wayne, Indiana-based SDI announced it was building the mill in July. Sinton is around 25 miles northwest of the Port of Corpus Christi.
SDI is one of the largest domestic steel producers and metals recyclers in the U.S. The Sinton location will speed steel delivery for SDI customers, including U.S. and Mexican pipe producers, officials said.
The company picked Sinton as the site of its newest mill because it expects Mexican steel consumption growth to outpace the U.S. based on Mexico’s growing manufacturing base.
“In 2018, the Mexican market imported 7.5 million tons of flat roll steel. Based on their growing manufacturing base, we believe Mexican demand growth will continue to outpace supply, making this an even more attractive underserved market in the coming years,” SDI President and CEO Mark Millett said during a fourth-quarter conference call with analysts Jan. 23.
Millett said the new steel mill will serve the Western U.S., as well as Texas, northern and central Mexico, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
The mill is expected to create around 600 jobs and could be operational by the end of the year, Millett said.
The Sinton site already has transport access to railroads and highways as well as the Port of Corpus Christi and is less than 200 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.