Commercial Metals Co. of Irving, Texas, said Tuesday that it will close its T-post fence operations in Magnolia by the end of the third quarter, blaming “global steel overcapacity” and “unfair trade.”
The publicly traded company (NYSE: CMC) said it would move the CMC Post plant’s production to another fence post operation in San Marcos, Texas. The company also said it would “significantly” cut production at its Magnolia rerolling mill, CMC Steel Arkansas, which it’s operated since 1987.
“These decisions are primarily the result of what CMC believes to be unfairly traded and illegally dumped steel products entering the U.S. market,” the company said in a statement.
T posts are metal fence posts typically used for barbed-wire fences.
Tracy Porter, president of CMC Americas, said it was a “difficult decision” to cut operations.
“The issue of global steel overcapacity is having real impacts on people and communities across the country,” Porter said. “We have been working tirelessly to address these issues with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission. Unfortunately the actions taken to date by the U.S. government have not been effective, and we continue to see excessive quantities of unfairly traded steel entering the U.S. market.”
Commercial Metals Co. makes, recycles and sells steel and metal products, materials and services.