“We as an industry must stay current. We can’t be embarrassed by expanding,” he said, speaking during a panel discussion at Fastmarkets AMM’s annual Steel Success Strategies conference in New York.  

In defending the expansions, which have been criticized on fears that they will lead to excess capacity and oversupply, Millett said it is important to keep in mind that 80% of China’s capacity is less than 15 years old.

“That’s state of the art,” he said. 

North American steelmakers have announced more than $10 billion in capital investments in the past two years, and among those is Steel Dynamics’ planned US$1.8 billion sheet mill in the southwest U.S. 

Millett said that project would expand SDI’s product portfolio and give it new capabilities. At the same time, it will allow the company to fill a regional void in the U.S. sheet market. As it is, there are few sheet mills in that part of country, he said, and demand currently is being met by imports or domestic steel that carries high shipping charges. 

“This represents a new business frontier for SDI,” he said.