South Korean company Hyundai Motor has officially announced an investment of about $6 billion to build an electric arc furnace steel plant in Louisiana to supply steel for the company’s auto business in the southeastern United States.
“We are pleased to announce that Hyundai has announced a major investment of $5.8 billion in American manufacturing,” President Trump said at a White House press conference on Monday.
The president added: “Specifically, Hyundai will build a brand-new steel mill in Louisiana that will produce more than 2.7 million tons of steel per year and create more than 1,400 jobs for American steelworkers.”
In January, it was first reported that Hyundai was considering building a sheet steel plant south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Trump said the Louisiana steel plant is part of a larger $21 billion investment Hyundai will make in the U.S. over the next few years.
It will be the first steel mill built in the United States by Hyundai Steel’s parent company, the Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group.
Trump said the plant would supply steel to the company’s auto parts and vehicle manufacturing plants in Alabama and Georgia, “which will soon produce more than 1 million American-made vehicles a year.”
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sung also attended the press conference and detailed plans to invest $21 billion in the United States over the next four years.
He noted that this is the company’s largest investment in the U.S., “and a key part of that commitment is our $6 billion investment in strengthening the U.S. supply chain, from steel to components to vehicles.”
At the same time, Mr. Chung said: “We are also very proud of the opening of our new $8 billion automobile plant in Savannah, Georgia.”
He said the decision to invest in Savannah would create more than 8,500 American jobs.
The plant in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, will be an electric arc furnace-based facility capable of producing direct reduced iron (DRI) and have the ability to produce hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel sheets, Hyundai Steel said in a press release Monday.
Hyundai Steel claims that the plant integrates all stages of steel production, from raw materials to finished products.
The company plans to begin commercial production by 2029. It will supply steel to Hyundai Motor Group plants in the United States, as well as South Korean automaker Kia, which also has plants in the United States.
The Hyundai steel plant will be a joint investment project with Hyundai Motor Group. The company also said it is evaluating equity investment opportunities with strategic partners.
Hyundai Steel added: “The company will continue to strengthen innovation in R&D and production in collaboration with global partners and investors in the automobile industry.”
The Louisiana plant will serve as a model for modern steel plants in South Korea, the company said.
“Hyundai will make steel and assemble cars in the United States, so they won’t have to pay any tariffs,” the president said. “If you make your product in the United States, there will be no tariffs.”
Trump noted that Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC recently announced plans to invest in the United States. (The list is available on the White House website.)
Speaking to reporters, Trump agreed that Hyundai’s investment could serve as a model for other automakers and companies to invest in the United States.
Ethan Bernard is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. He previously served as an editor in the New York office of American Metal Markets for two years beginning in 2008. He most recently served as a freelance editor for AMM Monthly Magazine from 2015 to 2017. He has experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, and holds a BA in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley and an MFA in creative writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.
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