Nucor Corporation NUE has stated that its Towers & Structures unit will construct its third cutting-edge utility structure production facility in Brigham City, UT. The company is currently finishing the construction of two utility structure production sites in Decatur, AL and Crawfordsville, IN. The new $200 million Utah plant will be built on Nucor's existing Brigham City location and is projected to employ 200 full-time workers.

Nucor has a strong presence in the West, and establishing this new plant in Utah will allow it to address the region's expanding need for utility infrastructure stemming from distributed energy projects, data centers and population expansion. As a global leader in sustainable steelmaking, the company noted that American-made low-embodied carbon steel should be used to build the nation's energy infrastructure.

An extensive electric transmission buildout is planned in the western United States, with local utilities expecting substantial load growth and increasing capital spending in response. Demand for utility infrastructure in the region is being driven by additional energy supplies, grid-hardening projects and higher load growth from data centers, EV charging stations and electrification. The Utah production site will be highly automated, providing a freight advantage over competitors outside the region. It will get plate and sheet products from Nucor steel plants by rail to meet its raw material requirements.

Shares of Nucor have lost 30% in a year compared with the industry’s 28.2% decline.

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NUE’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

NUE currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, Sylvamo Corporation SLVM and ATI Inc. ATI. 

Carpenter Technology currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 14.1%. The company's shares have soared 175.9% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Sylvamo, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. In this time frame, it has delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 16.7%, on average. SLVM’s shares have rallied 64.6% over the past year. 

ATI, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters and missing once, with the average earnings surprise being 3.7%. ATI has gained around 30.2% in the past year.

 

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