Nippon Steel (TYO:5401) has announced plans to invest $350m to upgrade the largest blast furnace at US Steel, marking an early step in the multi-year investment programme pledged to Washington as part of its takeover of the American steelmaker.
According to Japan’s Kyodo News, the spending will be carried out by United States Steel, now a wholly owned subsidiary, and will focus on relining blast furnace No.14 at the Gary Works plant in Indiana. The facility supplies iron used in high-strength steel, and the overhaul is intended to secure long-term iron-making capacity at the site.
The investment forms part of the roughly $11bn that Nippon Steel committed to inject into U.S. Steel by 2028 in order to secure regulatory and political backing for the acquisition. The $14.1bn deal, completed in June, brought one of the most recognisable names in US heavy industry under Japanese ownership.
Nippon Steel has identified the US as a core growth market as it seeks to strengthen its global footprint and modernise ageing assets. In its medium- to long-term management plan published earlier this month, the group said it expects to spend about JPY6 trillion, or $38bn, over the next five years in Japan and overseas, with a significant share earmarked for upgrading US Steel’s facilities.
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