Steel Dynamics Inc (STLD) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to Steel Dynamics First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised this call is being recorded today, April 24, 2024, and your participation implies consent to our recording of this call. If you do not agree to these terms, please disconnect.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Steel Dynamics 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，本次通話將於今天（2024 年 4 月 24 日）進行錄音，您的參與即表示同意我們對本次通話進行錄音。如果您不同意這些條款，請中斷連線。

At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to David Lipschitz, Director, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

這次，我想將會議交給投資人關係總監 David Lipschitz。請繼續。

Thank you, Matthew. Good morning, and welcome to Steel Dynamics First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded and will be available on our website for replay later today. Leading today's call are Mark Millett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Steel Dynamics; Theresa Wagler, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Barry Schneider, President and Chief Operating Officer. The other members of our senior leadership team are joining us on the call individually.

謝謝你，馬修。早上好，歡迎參加 Steel Dynamics 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。謹此提醒，今天的通話正在錄音中，並將在今天晚些時候在我們的網站上重播。今天的電話會議由 Steel Dynamics 董事長兼執行長 Mark Millett 主持。 Theresa Wagler，執行副總裁兼財務長；以及總裁兼營運長巴里·施奈德。我們高級領導團隊的其他成員將單獨加入我們的電話會議。

Some of today's statements, which speak only as of this date, may be forward-looking and predictive, typically preceded by believe, expect, anticipate or words of similar meaning. They are intended to be protected by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 should actual results turn out differently. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties related to integrating or starting up new assets, the aluminum industry, the use of estimates and assumptions in connection with anticipated project returns and our steel, metal recycling and fabrication businesses as well as to general business and economic conditions.

今天的一些陳述僅代表當前情況，可能具有前瞻性和預測性，通常前面帶有相信、期望、預期或類似含義的詞語。如果實際結果有所不同，它們將受到 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的保護。此類陳述涉及與整合或啟動新資產、鋁業、與預期項目回報和我們的鋼鐵、金屬回收和製造業務以及一般業務和經濟狀況相關的估計和假設的使用相關的風險和不確定性。

Examples of these are described in the related press release as well as in our annually filed SEC Form 10-K under the heading Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors, found on the Internet at www.sec.gov and, if applicable, in any later SEC Form 10-Q. You will also find any referenced non-GAAP financial measures reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in the press release issued yesterday entitled Steel Dynamics Reports First Quarter 2024 Results.

這些範例在相關新聞稿以及我們每年提交的SEC 表格10-K 中的前瞻性陳述和風險因素標題下進行了描述，該表格可在互聯網www.sec.gov 上找到，如果適用，可在任何網站上找到。您也可以在昨天發布的題為「Steel Dynamics 報告 2024 年第一季業績」的新聞稿中找到任何引用的非 GAAP 財務指標，這些指標與最直接可比的 GAAP 指標一致。

Now I'm pleased to turn the call over to Mark.

現在我很高興將電話轉給馬克。

Super. Thanks, David, and good morning, everybody. It's good to be with you for our first quarter '24 earnings call today. Once again, our teams achieved a strong first quarter financial and operational performance.

極好的。謝謝大衛，大家早安。很高興今天能與您一起參加我們 24 年第一季的財報電話會議。我們的團隊再次取得了強勁的第一季財務和營運表現。

Quarterly steel shipments was a near-record 3.3 million tons. The team successfully began operating our 4 new value-added flat rolled steel coating lines, which adds about 1.1 million tons of higher-margin product diversification to our portfolio. The Sinton team continues to make significant headway hitting record milestones and achieving positive EBITDA for the quarter, with significant improvements on the way. And we're also making fast progress on our aluminum flat rolled investments. There continues to be strong commercial support for a new and innovative supply chain solution provided by Steel Dynamics, as we are a well-known and highly regarded metals producer.

季度鋼材出貨量接近創紀錄的 330 萬噸。團隊成功開始營運我們的 4 條新的增值扁鋼塗層生產線，為我們的產品組合增加了約 110 萬噸高利潤的產品多樣化。 Sinton 團隊繼續取得重大進展，達到創紀錄的里程碑，並在本季度實現正的 EBITDA，並且正在取得重大改進。我們的鋁壓延投資也取得了快速進展。由於我們是一家知名且備受推崇的金屬生產商，Steel Dynamics 提供的新型創新供應鏈解決方案將繼續獲得強大的商業支援。

And financially, the team continues to excel. They consistently achieve superior financial metrics and best-in-class return on invested capital. It's a product of the passionate can-do performance-driven culture and our high-margin value-added growth strategy. A stark and persuasive indicator of the effectiveness of our business model is our relative EBITDA per employee generation, which is substantially higher than any of our competition.

在財務上，該團隊繼續表現出色。他們始終如一地實現卓越的財務指標和一流的投資資本回報率。它是熱情、進取、績效驅動文化和我們高利潤增值成長策略的產物。我們商業模式有效性的一個明顯而有說服力的指標是我們每代員工的相對 EBITDA，它遠高於我們的任何競爭對手。

I'm incredibly proud of the Steel Dynamics team. They are the foundation of our company, and they drive our success, and I'm proud to stand among them. They are special and we're focused on providing the very best for their health, safety and welfare. We're actively engaged in safety at all times and at every level of our company, keeping safety top of mind and an active conversation each and every day. Despite excellent safety performance compared to industry peers, there's more to do. We will not rest until we consistently achieve our goal of 0 injuries.

我為 Steel Dynamics 團隊感到無比自豪。他們是我們公司的基礎，推動我們取得成功，我很自豪能夠站在他們之中。他們很特別，我們致力於為他們的健康、安全和福祉提供最好的服務。我們在公司的各個層面始終積極參與安全工作，並始終將安全放在首位，每天都積極地進行對話。儘管與業內同行相比，安全性能出色，但仍有更多工作要做。在我們持續實現零傷害目標之前，我們不會休息。

With that, Theresa, would you like to give us some color on the quarter?

特蕾莎，您願意為我們介紹本季的情況嗎？

Thanks, Mark. Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I add my sincere thanks to our teams for another strong performance. Our first quarter 2024 net income was $584 million or $3.67 per diluted share, with adjusted EBITDA of $879 million.

謝謝，馬克。大家，早安。感謝您加入我們。我對我們團隊的又一次出色表現表示衷心的感謝。我們 2024 年第一季的淨利潤為 5.84 億美元，或稀釋後每股收益 3.67 美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 8.79 億美元。

First quarter 2024 revenue of $4.7 billion was 11% higher than sequential fourth quarter results, supported by strong volume and higher realized selling values across the steel platform. Our first quarter operating income of $751 million was 45% higher than fourth quarter results, driven by steel metal spread expansion, especially within our flat-rolled operations.

由於整個鋼鐵平台強勁的銷售和更高的已實現銷售價值，2024 年第一季的營收為 47 億美元，比第四季的連續業績高出 11%。在鋼鐵金屬價差擴張的推動下，我們第一季的營業收入為 7.51 億美元，比第四季的業績高出 45%，特別是在我們的壓延業務中。

A quick note, as we construct the aluminum facilities, noncapitalizable expenses are required to flow through SG&A until startup. So you will see increased costs in that line item as we start operations mid-2025. In the first quarter, that additional amount was about $14 million.

快速說明一下，當我們建造鋁廠時，在啟動之前需要透過 SG&A 支付不可資本化的費用。因此，當我們在 2025 年中期開始營運時，您會看到該訂單項目的成本增加。第一季度，額外金額約 1400 萬美元。

As we discuss our business this morning, we see positive industry fundamentals for 2024 and beyond, and we're focused toward our continued transformational growth initiatives. Our Sinton, Texas flat-rolled steel division operated close to 70% of capacity for the quarter, and, as Mark said, generated positive earnings. Our steel operations generated strong operating income of $675 million in the first quarter, supported by near-record shipments and increased realized product pricing.

當我們今天早上討論我們的業務時，我們看到了 2024 年及以後的積極的行業基本面，並且我們專注於持續的轉型增長計劃。我們位於德克薩斯州 Sinton 的扁鋼部門本季的產能接近 70%，正如 Mark 所說，產生了正收益。我們的鋼鐵業務在第一季創造了 6.75 億美元的強勁營業收入，這得益於接近創紀錄的出貨量和增加的已實現產品定價。

For those of you who track flat-rolled products by type, in the first quarter, hot-rolled shipments were 1.62 million tons, cold-rolled shipments were 130,000 tons and coated shipments were 1.220 million tons. Operating income from our metals recycling operations was $23 million, significantly higher than sequential fourth quarter results as increased domestic steel demand supported higher volumes.

按類型追蹤扁鋼產品，第一季熱軋出貨量為162萬噸，冷軋出貨量為13萬噸，塗層出貨量為122萬噸。我們的金屬回收業務的營業收入為 2,300 萬美元，顯著高於第四季度的業績，因為國內鋼鐵需求的增加支撐了產量的增加。

As many of you already know, we're the largest North American metals recycler, processing and consuming ferrous scrap and nonferrous aluminum, copper and other metals. The team continues to effectively lever the strength of our circular manufacturing model, benefiting both our steel and metals recycling operations as well as shortly, our aluminum flat-rolled operations.

正如你們許多人所知，我們是北美最大的金屬回收商，加工和消耗黑色金屬廢料以及有色鋁、銅和其他金屬。團隊繼續有效地利用我們循環製造模式的優勢，使我們的鋼鐵和金屬回收業務以及短期內的鋁壓延業務受益。

Our steel fabrication segment achieved strong operating income of $178 million in the first quarter, lower than sequential fourth quarter results due to weather impacted and seasonally lower shipments and metal spread compression as realized pricing declined and steel raw material input cost increased.

我們的鋼鐵製造部門在第一季實現了1.78 億美元的強勁營業收入，低於第四季度的連續業績，原因是天氣影響、季節性出貨量下降以及由於實現定價下降和鋼鐵原材料投入成本增加而導致金屬價差壓縮。

Our joist and deck backlog extends through the third quarter 2024 with strong forward pricing, and pricing has stabilized at historically strong levels during the quarter. Infrastructure Inflation Reduction Act and DOE decarbonization support and manufacturing onshoring are expected to increase domestic fixed asset investments later this year and into next year, which will support our steel operations and our fabrication business.

我們的托樑和甲板積壓訂單一直持續到 2024 年第三季度，遠期定價強勁，本季定價已穩定在歷史強勁水準。基礎設施通膨削減法案和美國能源部脫碳支援以及製造業外包預計將在今年稍後和明年增加國內固定資產投資，這將支持我們的鋼鐵業務和製造業務。

Our cash generation continues to be strong based on our differentiated circular business model and highly variable cost structure. During the first quarter of 2024, we generated cash flow from operations of $355 million, which was reduced by an annual company-wide profit sharing contribution of $265 million.

基於我們差異化的循環業務模式和高度變動的成本結構，我們的現金產生能力持續強勁。 2024 年第一季度，我們的營運現金流為 3.55 億美元，但由於全公司年度利潤分享貢獻 2.65 億美元而減少。

We ended the quarter with strong liquidity of $3.1 billion. For 2024, we believe full year capital investments will be in the range of $2 billion, of which approximately $1.4 billion relates to our aluminum flat-rolled investments and $175 million toward our biocarbon facility.

本季末，我們擁有 31 億美元的強勁流動性。到 2024 年，我們認為全年資本投資將在 20 億美元左右，其中約 14 億美元用於我們的鋁壓延投資，1.75 億美元用於我們的生物碳設施。

In February, we increased our cash dividend 8% to $0.46 per common share, continuing our increasing dividend profile as through-cycle cash flow grows. We also repurchased $298 million of our common stock, representing 1.5% of our outstanding shares.

2 月份，我們將現金股利增加了 8%，達到每股普通股 0.46 美元，隨著整個週期現金流的成長，我們的股利狀況持續增加。我們也回購了 2.98 億美元的普通股，占我們已發行股票的 1.5%。

At March 31, $1.1 billion remained available for our share repurchases under our new $1.5 billion plan. Our capital allocation strategy prioritizes high-return strategic growth with shareholder distributions comprised of a base positive dividend profile that's complemented with a variable share repurchase program.

截至 3 月 31 日，根據我們新的 15 億美元計劃，仍有 11 億美元可用於股票回購。我們的資本配置策略優先考慮高回報策略成長，股東分配包括基本的正股利狀況，並輔以可變股票回購計畫。

While we remain dedicated to preserving our investment-grade credit designation, our free cash flow profile has fundamentally changed over the last 5 years from an annual average of $540 million from 2011 to 2015 to currently $2.9 billion. We've strategically placed ourselves in a position of strength to have a sustainable capital foundation that provides the opportunity for meaningful strategic growth and strong shareholder returns, while maintaining investment-grade metrics.

雖然我們仍然致力於維持我們的投資等級信用稱號，但我們的自由現金流狀況在過去5 年中發生了根本性變化，從2011 年至2015 年的年均5.4 億美元變為目前的29 億美元。我們在策略上使自己處於有利地位，擁有可持續的資本基礎，為有意義的策略成長和強勁的股東回報提供機會，同時保持投資級指標。

We believe our track record proves itself with an average 3-year after-tax return on invested capital of 32%, clearly a best-in-class performance across industries. We're squarely positioned for the continuation of sustainable optimized long-term value creation. Sustainability is also a significant part of our long-term value creation strategy, and we're dedicated to our people, our communities and our environment. We're committed to operating our business with the highest integrity.

我們相信，我們的業績記錄證明了自己，平均 3 年稅後投資資本回報率為 32%，顯然是各行業中同類最佳的表現。我們已做好充分準備，持續可持續優化的長期價值創造。永續發展也是我們長期價值創造策略的重要組成部分，我們致力於為我們的員工、社區和環境服務。我們致力於以最高的誠信經營我們的業務。

In that regard, we remain excited about our joint venture with Aymium, a leading producer of renewable biocarbon products. We believe our first joint venture facility, which we plan to start operating late in the fourth quarter, could decrease our steel Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 35%. We have an actionable path toward carbon neutrality that is more manageable and, we believe, considerably less expensive than they lay ahead for many of our industry peers.

在這方面，我們對與可再生生物碳產品領先生產商 Aymium 的合資企業仍然感到興奮。我們相信，我們計劃在第四季末開始營運的第一家合資工廠可以將我們的鋼鐵範圍 1 溫室氣體排放量減少多達 35%。我們擁有一條實現碳中和的可行途徑，該途徑更易於管理，而且我們相信，其成本比許多行業同行的成本要低得多。

Our sustainability and carbon reduction strategy is an ongoing journey, and we're moving forward with the intention to make a positive difference. We plan to continue to address these matters and continue our leadership role moving forward. Barry?

我們的永續發展和減碳策略是一個持續的旅程，我們不斷前進，旨在做出積極的改變。我們計劃繼續解決這些問題並繼續發揮我們的領導作用。巴里？

Thanks, Theresa. Our steel fabrication operations performed well in the first quarter, achieving strong earnings. At the end of the first quarter, our steel joist and deck order backlog was solid, extending through the third quarter of 2024. Additionally, current pricing has stabilized at historically high levels during the first quarter. We continue to have high expectations for the business. Continued onshoring of manufacturing, coupled with infrastructure spending and fixed asset investment related to the IRA programs, should provide momentum for additional construction spending later this year and through 2025.

謝謝，特蕾莎。我們的鋼鐵製造業務在第一季表現良好，實現了強勁的利潤。截至第一季末，我們的鋼托樑和甲板訂單積壓量穩定，一直持續到 2024 年第三季。我們仍然對業務抱有很高的期望。製造業的持續外包，加上與 IRA 計劃相關的基礎設施支出和固定資產投資，應該會為今年稍後至 2025 年的額外建築支出提供動力。

Our fabrication platform provides meaningful volume support for our steel mills, critical and softer demand environments, allowing for higher through-cycle steel utilization compared to our peers. It also helps mitigate the financial risk of lower steel prices.

我們的製造平台為我們的鋼廠、關鍵和較疲軟的需求環境提供有意義的批量支持，與同行相比，可以實現更高的全週期鋼材利用率。它還有助於減輕鋼材價格下跌帶來的財務風險。

Our metals recycling operations improved earnings in the first quarter as increased demand from North American steel producers supported higher ferrous scrap volume and the team continues to grow our volume and recycled aluminum in advance of starting our new aluminum flat-rolled operations. The North American geographic footprint of our metals recycling platform provides a strategic competitive advantage for our steel mills and for our scrap-generating customers.

我們的金屬回收業務第一季的盈利有所改善，因為北美鋼鐵生產商的需求增加支持了黑色金屬廢料量的增加，並且該團隊在開始新的鋁壓延業務之前繼續增加我們的數量和回收鋁。我們的金屬回收平台在北美的地理分佈為我們的鋼廠和廢鋼生產客戶提供了戰略競爭優勢。

In particular, our Mexican recycling operations competitively advantaged our Columbus and Sinton raw material positions. They also strategically support increased procurement of aluminum scrap for our future flat-rolled aluminum operations.

特別是，我們的墨西哥回收業務使我們的哥倫布和辛頓原材料地位具有競爭優勢。他們也從策略上支持我們未來的壓延鋁業務增加鋁廢料的採購。

Our metals recycling team is partnering even more closely with both our steel and aluminum teams to expand scrap separation capabilities through process and technology solutions. This will help mitigate potential prime ferrous scrap supply issues in the future. It will also provide us with a significant advantage to materially increase the recycled content in our aluminum flat rolled products and increase our earnings opportunities.

我們的金屬回收團隊正在與我們的鋼鐵和鋁團隊更加緊密地合作，透過製程和技術解決方案擴大廢料分離能力。這將有助於緩解未來潛在的優質黑色金屬廢料供應問題。它還將為我們提供顯著的優勢，大幅增加鋁壓延產品中的回收含量，並增加我們的獲利機會。

The steel team had a strong quarter, achieving near-record shipments of 3.3 million tons. During the first quarter of 2024, the domestic steel industry operated at an estimated production utilization rate of 77%, while our steel mills operated at 87%. We consistently operated higher utilization rates due to our value-added steel product diversification, our differentiated customer supply chain solutions and the support of our internal manufacturing businesses.

鋼鐵團隊本季表現強勁，出貨量接近創紀錄的 330 萬噸。 2024年第一季，國內鋼鐵業的生產利用率預估為77%，而我國鋼廠的開工率為87%。由於我們的增值鋼鐵產品多元化、差異化的客戶供應鏈解決方案以及我們內部製造業務的支持，我們的利用率始終保持較高。

The higher through-cycle utilization of our steel mills is a key competitive advantage, supporting our strong and growing cash generation capability and best-in-class financial metrics. Our realized steel pricing improved across our product portfolios.

我們鋼廠較高的全週期利用率是一項關鍵的競爭優勢，支持我們強大且不斷增長的現金產生能力和一流的財務指標。我們的產品組合的實際鋼鐵定價有所改善。

However, flat rolled prices weakened early in the first quarter before recovering in March and April. Value-add flat-rolled steel pricing spreads were incredibly resilient, actually expanding during the same time frame. Underlying demand remains steady, but customers are managing to a lower inventory level, which can cause some volatility in spot prices.

然而，平卷價格在第一季初走軟，然後在三月和四月恢復。加值扁鋼價差具有令人難以置信的彈性，實際上在同一時間段內仍在擴大。基本需求保持穩定，但客戶正在設法降低庫存水平，這可能會導致現貨價格出現一定波動。

As order activity increased quarter-over-quarter, our steel backlogs also improved nicely from December to March across the platform. As for Sinton, the team continues to make significant improvements in operating efficiency and consistency. They averaged around 70% of capability for the quarter, breaking monthly utilization records across the lines in March. We are planning for Sinton to see additional improvements in production as the team took several maintenance days in April.

隨著訂單活動季比增加，我們的鋼鐵積壓訂單從 12 月到 3 月整個平台也得到了很好的改善。至於Sinton，團隊在營運效率和一致性方面不斷取得重大改善。該季度的平均產能利用率約為 70%，打破了 3 月的月度利用率記錄。我們計劃讓辛頓的生產得到進一步的改進，因為團隊在四月進行了幾天的維護。

Among other things, in the outage, we resolved certain transformer limitations, which will allow us to access 100% of our melting capacity versus the previous 80%. Also, the additional 2 new value-added coating lines were successfully commissioned and have commenced operations with excellent results. These additional lines will support increased volume and margins as we head through this year.

除此之外，在停電期間，我們解決了某些變壓器限制，這將使我們能夠獲得 100% 的熔煉能力，而之前為 80%。此外，新增的2條加值塗裝線已成功調試並投入運營，取得了良好的效果。這些新增產品線將支持我們今年銷售和利潤的增加。

Regarding the steel market environment, North American automotive production estimates for 2024 were recently revised higher to just over 16 million units with continued growth expected in 2025 and 2026. This improved forecast is based on demand resilience and stronger production results as supply chain constraints continue to dissipate across the automotive supply chain.

關於鋼鐵市場環境，北美汽車產量預測最近上調至2024 年略高於1,600 萬輛，預計2025 年和2026 年將繼續成長。限制繼續存在。

Automotive dealer inventories are also continuing to remain below historical norms. Nonresidential construction remained solid as supported by the increased sequentially quarterly order activity and shipments at our Structural and Rail division. Additionally, onshoring and infrastructure spending should provide further meaningful support to fixed asset investment and related construction-oriented projects in the coming years.

汽車經銷商庫存也持續低於歷史正常水準。在結構和鐵路部門季度訂單活動和發貨量連續增加的支撐下，非住宅建築保持穩健。此外，在岸和基礎設施支出應在未來幾年為固定資產投資和相關建設項目提供進一步有意義的支援。

As for the energy markets, the solar industry continues to grow and oil and gas activity is steady. However, increasing OCTG and line pipe imports created a challenging first quarter environment for the domestic producer. Looking forward, we are optimistic regarding steel demand and pricing demand for 2024.

至於能源市場，太陽能產業持續成長，石油和天然氣活動穩定。然而，油井管和管線管進口的增加給國內生產商帶來了充滿挑戰的第一季環境。展望未來，我們對2024年的鋼鐵需求和定價需求持樂觀態度。

Thanks, Barry. Thanks, Theresa. Well, consistently strong through-cycle operating and financial performance continues to support our cash generation and growth investment strategies. As mentioned, the 4 value-add flat-rolled steel coating lines are now online and in various modes of startup. And certainly, the line in Sinton was an absolute unqualified success. The team has done a phenomenal job there. And Sinton should see a step function improvement in operations and profitability as those 2 new lines ramp up after the April maintenance, which occurred actually 2 weeks ago, and that's -- they're up and running again.

謝謝，巴里。謝謝，特蕾莎。嗯，持續強勁的整個週期營運和財務表現繼續支持我們的現金產生和成長投資策略。如前所述，4條增值扁鋼塗裝線現已上線並以多種模式啟動。當然，辛頓的生產線絕對是絕對的成功。該團隊在那裡做得非常出色。隨著這2 條新生產線在4 月的維護後（實際上發生在兩週前）之後投入使用，Sinton 應該會看到營運和盈利能力的階梯式功能改善，也就是說，它們已經重新啟動並運行。

The aluminum strategy, our growth is especially compelling. Responses from existing and new customers across all markets remains incredible and only strengthening as we move forward. We are currently in discussions with numerous customers who wish to locate on site with us and this co-location strategy provides a sustainably competitive model for all of us, conserving time, money and reducing emissions across the supply chain. And this model has already proven itself tremendously successful in Sinton.

鋁策略，我們的成長尤其引人注目。所有市場的現有和新客戶的反應仍然令人難以置信，並且隨著我們的前進而不斷加強。我們目前正在與眾多希望與我們在現場合作的客戶進行討論，這種託管策略為我們所有人提供了可持續的競爭模式，節省了時間、金錢並減少了整個供應鏈的排放。這種模式已經在辛頓證明了自己的巨大成功。

And to just sort of review the project itself, 650,000 metric tons of aluminum flat roll capability in Columbus, Mississippi, the state-of-the-art plant, it has served the sustainable beverage and packaging sector, automotive and industrial markets as well. The roughly 300,000 metric tons a year of can stock, about 200,000 tons of auto and 150,000 tons of industrial and construction.

回顧該項目本身，密西西比州哥倫布市最先進的工廠擁有 65 萬噸鋁扁捲產能，它還為永續飲料和包裝產業、汽車和工業市場提供服務。每年罐頭庫存約30萬噸，汽車庫存約20萬噸，工業和建築庫存約15萬噸。

Actually at the site in Columbus, we'll have a metal cast slab capacity of around 600,000 metric tons and that will be supported by 2 satellite facilities, one out west around Gila Bend and one in Central Mexico, which are located in scrap-rich regions. We can capture the scrap, turn it into the cast slab and transport it very, very effectively and cost efficiently to the mill itself. Expanded the project scope to include additional scrap processing and treatment to maximize aluminum recycled content. The metals recycling team has also developed a commercially viable sorting solution at volume for 5000 and 6000 series aluminum scrap, which represents an incredible competitive advantage for us.

實際上，在哥倫布工廠，我們將擁有約 60 萬公噸的金屬鑄坯產能，並將由 2 個衛星設施提供支持，一個位於 Gila Bend 周圍西部，一個位於墨西哥中部，這些設施位於廢鋼豐富的地區地區。我們可以捕獲廢料，將其轉化為鑄坯，然後非常非常有效且經濟高效地將其運送到工廠本身。擴大了專案範圍，包括額外的廢料加工和處理，以最大限度地提高鋁的回收含量。金屬回收團隊還針對 5000 和 6000 系列鋁廢料開發了商業上可行的批量分選解決方案，這對我們來說是一個令人難以置信的競爭優勢。

Our startup plans have not changed. The rolling mill should be operating mid-2025, the Mexico Slab Center at the end of '24 and then Arizona mid-'25. The total project cost, including the recycled slab centers remains at $2.7 billion. And with virtually all equipment and construction contracts complete, we feel confident in the expected amount of investment.

我們的啟動計劃沒有改變。軋機應於 2025 年中期投入運營，墨西哥板坯中心將於 24 年底投入運營，亞利桑那州則於 25 年中期投入運營。包括回收板中心在內的項目總成本仍為 27 億美元。隨著幾乎所有設備和施工合約的完成，我們對預期投資金額充滿信心。

We also are confident that it will add around about $650 million to $700 million of through-cycle annual EBITDA plus an initial $40 million to $50 million from the Omni platform as well. The investment premise, if you think about it, the market environment is similar to the domestic steel industry when we started SDI 30 years ago.

我們也相信，它將增加約 6.5 億至 7 億美元的全週期年度 EBITDA，加上 Omni 平台的初始 4,000 萬至 5,000 萬美元。投資前提，你想一下，市場環境和30年前我們創辦SDI時的國內鋼鐵業類似。

They have older assets, they've had difficulty earning their cost of capital. So there's been a little reinvestment, heavy legacy costs, inefficient and operations are typically high cost. And also a significant aluminum flat-rolled supply deficit exists in North America, which is expected to grow. And this will be the first time we've ever entered a market where there's a supply/demand gap, pretty positive for us, for sure.

他們擁有較舊的資產，他們很難賺取資本成本。因此，存在少量再投資、沉重的遺留成本、效率低且營運成本通常很高。北美地區也存在嚴重的鋁扁材供應短缺，而且預計這種供應短缺將繼續擴大。這將是我們第一次進入一個有供需​​缺口的市場，這對我們來說無疑是非常正面的。

We have business alignment and we can leverage our core competencies of construction and operational know-how. We can lever Omni's recycling footprint. As many of you know, we're the largest aluminum scrap recycler in North America. And again, we are developing some pretty exciting new separation technologies. So it's going to be cost effective. It's a very, very high-return growth for us.

我們具有業務一致性，並且可以利用我們的建設和營運專業知識的核心能力。我們可以利用 Omni 的回收足跡。眾所周知，我們是北美最大的鋁廢料回收商。同樣，我們正在開發一些非常令人興奮的新分離技術。所以這將是具有成本效益的。這對我們來說是一個非常非常高回報的成長。

Moving on, learn passion, I think, by our future growth plans, as they will continue to drive the high-return growth momentum we have consistently demonstrated over the years. We have the highest, most recent 5-year average after-tax return on invested capital within the S&P 500 materials companies. And in the most recent 3 years, we have had an average of after-tax return on invested capital of 32%, which I think is a stunning number and an affirmation of the ability of all our team.

我認為，繼續前進，透過我們未來的成長計畫學習熱情，因為它們將繼續推動我們多年來一貫表現出的高回報成長勢頭。我們在標準普爾 500 強材料公司中擁有最高的最近 5 年平均投資資本回報率。最近3年，我們的平均稅後投資報酬率為32%，我認為這是一個驚人的數字，也是對我們所有團隊能力的肯定。

Our disciplined and intentional growth strategy, focused on differentiated value-added supply chain solutions, has provided sustainable and growing cash generation. And we'll continue to do so in the future. So I'm incredibly optimistic moving forward.

我們嚴格且有目的的成長策略，專注於差異化的增值供應鏈解決方案，提供了可持續且不斷增長的現金產生。未來我們將繼續這樣做。所以我對前進非常樂觀。

I believe the market dynamics are in place to support increased demand across our operating platforms in '24. North America will benefit from continued onshoring of manufacturing businesses. And the U.S. will benefit from the allocation of public monies from the infrastructure program, the Inflation Reduction Act and other public programs. Steel Dynamics is levered to benefit from those programs through increased steel joist and deck demand, flat and long product steel demand and the associated higher demand for recycled scrap and aluminum.

我相信市場動態已經到位，可以支援 24 年我們營運平台不斷增長的需求。北美將受惠於製造業企業的持續本土化。美國將從基礎設施計劃、通貨膨脹削減法案和其他公共計劃的公共資金分配中受益。 Steel Dynamics 透過增加鋼托樑和甲板需求、扁平材和長材鋼材需求以及相關的回收廢料和鋁的更高需求，從這些計劃中受益。

As I said earlier, our teams are our foundation. I thank each and every one of them for their passion and their dedication. We are committed to them, and I remind those listening today, the safety for yourselves, your families and each other is our highest priority. Our culture and business model continue to positively differentiate our performance, leading to best-in-class operating and financial metrics.

正如我之前所說，我們的團隊是我們的基礎。我感謝他們每一個人的熱情和奉獻精神。我們致力於這些，我提醒今天聽眾，你們自己、你們家人和彼此的安全是我們的首要任務。我們的文化和商業模式繼續積極地使我們的業績脫穎而出，從而實現一流的營運和財務指標。

We're no longer a simple steel company. We're an industrial metals business providing enhanced supply chain solutions to numerous industries that are essential to global economies. This differentiation and diversification mitigates cash generation volatility in all market cycles, as we've just seen in this past quarter. We are competitively positioned and continue to focus on providing superior value for our companies, for our customers, team members and shareholders alike, and we look forward to creating new opportunities for all of us today in the many years ahead.

我們不再是一家簡單的鋼鐵公司。我們是一家工業金屬企業，為對全球經濟至關重要的眾多產業提供增強的供應鏈解決方案。正如我們在上個季度所看到的那樣，這種差異化和多元化減輕了所有市場週期中現金產生的波動性。我們處於競爭地位，並將繼續專注於為我們的公司、客戶、團隊成員和股東等提供卓越的價值，我們期待在未來的許多年裡為我們所有人創造新的機會。

With that said, Matthew, could you open the line up for questions, please?

話雖如此，馬修，你能打開提問隊列嗎？

(Operator Instructions) Your first question is coming from Martin Englert from Seaport Research Partners.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Seaport Research Partners 的 Martin Englert。

Within steel, conversion costs appear to have declined a bit quarter-on-quarter. Taking into account Sinton's continued to ramp up and substrate costs going into 2Q, would you anticipate a comparable reduction in the current quarter?

在鋼鐵領域，轉換成本似乎比去年同期略有下降。考慮到 Sinton 的持續成長和基材成本進入第二季度，您預計本季會出現類似的下降嗎？

Martin, the way that you and others are able to actually calculate what you call conversion costs is a little bit difficult. But yes, with the increasing production at Sinton, which we expect to continue to improve into the second quarter and the second half of the year, you will see that the additional volume will help compress costs across the spectrum, but product mix is also something that you need to take into consideration when you think about flat versus long. But we would expect to see that the conversion rate, as you calculate it, would continue to reduce. I can't speak to the exact magnitude thereof.

馬丁，您和其他人能夠實際計算所謂的轉換成本的方式有點困難。但是，是的，隨著 Sinton 產量的增加，我們預計將在今年第二季和下半年繼續改善，您會發現額外的產量將有助於壓縮整個範圍的成本，但產品組合也很重要當您考慮持平與長期時，您需要考慮這一點。但我們預計，正如您計算的那樣，轉換率將繼續下降。我無法說出其確切的大小。

Your next question is coming from Curt Woodworth from UBS. .

你們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的科特·伍德沃斯。 。

A couple of questions on the greenfield aluminum project. Can you kind of give us a time line on where -- when you think you could get to more of an EBITDA breakeven level on the facility and what type of utilization rate you think you would need to achieve that?

關於綠地鋁專案的幾個問題。您能否給我們一個時間表，說明您何時可以在設施上達到更高的 EBITDA 盈虧平衡水平，以及您認為需要什麼樣的利用率才能實現這一目標？

And then can you speak to what level of commercial commitments or arrangements that you've been able to achieve at this point? And then just lastly, I saw you kept the CapEx guidance flat at $2.7 billion, but obviously, there's been some concern just around general inflationary pressures. But do you feel -- are you seeing any upward pressure on the CapEx number? And are you pretty confident on keeping that number at $2.7 billion going forward?

那麼您能談談您目前能夠實現什麼程度的商業承諾或安排嗎？最後，我看到你們將資本支出指引保持在 27 億美元不變，但顯然，人們對整體通膨壓力有些擔憂。但您是否認為資本支出數字有任何上升壓力？您對未來將這個數字保持在 27 億美元有信心嗎？

I'll go backwards. That's the easier way. From a CapEx standpoint, as I mentioned in my sort of preliminary thoughts, virtually everything is now contracted out. We did, and you saw here some months ago, we did bump it up to that $2.7 billion with the knowledge of some inflationary pressures. Those are all baked in to that $2.7 billion, and we see no expansion on that number going forward.

我會向後走。這是更簡單的方法。從資本支出的角度來看，正如我在初步想法中提到的，幾乎所有事情現在都外包了。我們做到了，幾個月前你也看到了，我們確實在考慮到一些通膨壓力的情況下將其提高到了 27 億美元。這些都計入了 27 億美元，我們認為這個數字未來不會增加。

From a commercial arrangement perspective, we've been working, obviously, with the major sort of beer can or the beverage can consumers. We've been working with automotive as well. And we're pretty confident that we have the ability to match our customer demand with the ramp-up curve.

從商業安排的角度來看，顯然，我們一直在與主要類型的啤酒罐或飲料罐消費者合作。我們也一直在汽車領域合作。我們非常有信心我們有能力將客戶需求與成長曲線相匹配。

And as we also mentioned, operations should start mid-'25. There will be some qualifications early on. But we're confident that we can match the demand from those customers with that start-up ramp. From a standpoint of EBITDA breakeven, I would imagine that from the end of the year, I would hope we are in that position.

正如我們也提到的，營運應該在 25 年中期開始。早期會有一些資格。但我們有信心能夠透過啟動產能來滿足這些客戶的需求。從 EBITDA 盈虧平衡的角度來看，我想從今年年底開始，我希望我們能夠處於這個位置。

Okay. And then just a quick follow-up on fabrication. Last quarter, you talked about order entry improving and pricing continues to be stable. But obviously, there's still downward pressure in the business. Can you just give us a sense for maybe volumetrically, how you see things performing into 2Q?

好的。然後對製造進行快速跟進。上個季度，您談到了訂單輸入的改善和定價的持續穩定。但顯然，業務仍存在下行壓力。您能否讓我們了解一下您如何看待第二季的表現？

I know 1Q is always seasonally weak, and there was some weather-related disruption, but do you think you can get close to getting back to positive growth in fabrication? And then just in joist and deck in general, can you give us a sense for maybe how those products fit into some of these federal programs in terms of the CHIPS Act, IRA battery plants? Do you see any new sources of growth that could mitigate what's been somewhat of an air pocket on the warehouse side?

我知道第一季總是季節性疲軟，並且存在一些與天氣相關的中斷，但您認為製造能夠接近恢復正增長嗎？然後，就一般托樑和甲板而言，您能否讓我們了解這些產品如何融入 CHIPS 法案、IRA 電池廠等聯邦計劃中？您是否看到任何新的成長來源可以緩解倉庫方面的一些氣穴？

Yes. I guess the -- from our perspective, and I will let Theresa and Barry chip in here in a little bit, but from a shipment standpoint in Q4 and early Q1, shipments kind of leveled off at pre-COVID levels. We've seen some general seasonality and there's some regional weather impacts here and there.

是的。我想，從我們的角度來看，我會讓Theresa 和Barry 稍微參與一下，但從第四季度和第一季初的出貨量來看，出貨量趨於穩定在新冠疫情爆發前的水平。我們已經看到了一些普遍的季節性因素，並且到處都有一些區域性的天氣影響。

But booking rates increased in March and are up again meaningfully in April. Backlogs are around about 6 months. So we personally consider that to be kind of a volume trough, and we think things are going to move up volume-wise in the second quarter into the rest of the year. And I think the thing to emphasize there's only been slight quarter-over-quarter price erosion.

但預訂率在 3 月有所上升，並在 4 月再次顯著上升。積壓時間約 6 個月。因此，我們個人認為這是一種銷售低谷，我們認為第二季到今年剩餘時間銷售將會上升。我認為需要強調的是，季度環比價格僅略有下降。

And so for that to -- or that market strength to be there, I think it confirms our thesis that there's been a paradigm shift in through-cycle spreads. And I think we've got a very, very, very constructive view of the long-term prospects for fabrication.

因此，對於這一點，或者說市場實力的存在，我認為這證實了我們的論點，即整個週期利差已經發生了範式轉移。我認為我們對製造的長期前景有著非常非常有建設性的看法。

I think something that I would point out in addition to what Mark said. If you look at -- and take into consideration that volumes are, to Mark's point, at a pre-COVID level, but earnings were still, from an operating income perspective, about over $1,200 per ton.

除了馬克所說的之外，我想我還想指出一些事情。如果你看一下，並考慮到馬克的觀點，產量處於新冠疫情之前的水平，但從營業收入的角度來看，收益仍然約為每噸 1,200 美元以上。

If you looked historically in a very strong market, that number might have been $150 to $200 per ton. So structurally, there has been a significant difference, and it is proving out the theory that we had that there's a structural shift.

如果你從歷史上看一個非常強勁的市場，這個數字可能是每噸 150 到 200 美元。因此，從結構上來說，存在著顯著的差異，它證明了我們的理論，即存在結構性轉變。

Barry, maybe you want to talk a little bit about how the programs actually go into the public dollars.

巴里，也許你想談談這些項目實際上是如何進入公共資金的。

A lot of these public the CHIPS Act and the IRA Act, there's a lot of work that has to happen upfront. And once those projects are -- owners are identified and engineering companies are identified, that's when this starts flowing into all the steel products, but specifically, when we look at the joist and deck, once it's a concrete kind of a plan on what's going to be built, the time line is actually pretty quick.

其中許多都公開了《CHIPS 法案》和《IRA 法案》，還有很多工作需要提前進行。一旦這些項目確定了業主並確定了工程公司，那就開始流入所有鋼鐵產品，但具體來說，當我們查看托樑和甲板時，一旦它成為有關正在發生的事情的具體計劃要建成的話，時間其實還蠻快的。

So when those orders start to be in place, it's typically in a kind of a 3- to 6-month window, when they start shipping. So we're encouraged by what we hear, what we communicate through the general contractors, the fabricators out in the marketplace.

因此，當這些訂單開始到位時，通常會在 3 到 6 個月的時間內開始出貨。因此，我們所聽到的、我們透過總承包商、市場上的製造商傳達的訊息讓我們感到鼓舞。

So again, we have a good reason to believe the second half of the year fills up nicely with these projects, as they start moving from conceptual phase to actually enter in construction phases.

因此，我們有充分的理由相信今年下半年這些項目會很好地開展，因為它們開始從概念階段轉向實際進入施工階段。

Your next question is coming from Carlos De Alba from Morgan Stanley.

您的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的卡洛斯·德阿爾巴。

Just maybe continuing with the discussion. The long steel volumes declined quite sharply or meaningfully year-on-year. Can you maybe provide more color as to the different end markets within construction and infrastructure, that may be leading to this decline? Clearly the backdrop for the coming years, for sure, is quite solid. But at least in the first quarter, the numbers just weren't there. So any color on the different construction markets would be great.

也許只是繼續討論。長材銷量較去年同期大幅下降或大幅下降。您能否提供更多關於建築和基礎設施領域不同終端市場的信息，這可能導致這種下降？顯然，未來幾年的背景是相當堅實的。但至少在第一季度，這些數字並不存在。因此，不同建築市場上的任何顏色都會很棒。

Carlos, I would say, as you look at the mix across line products, as we make sections that are lighter sections, that's more responsive to what the marketplace is right now. So we've had a pretty robust level of order input. And Structural and Rail has performed pretty well.

卡洛斯，我想說，當你看到跨線產品的組合時，當我們製作更輕的部分時，這對現在的市場反應更加敏感。所以我們的訂單輸入水準相當強勁。結構和鐵路的表現也相當不錯。

We tend to balance between our rail production and our structural production. And I think in general, I would say the market space has changed from one of where a lot of more fabricators were directly going to mills to more of a service center type relationship. And that's, again, a more historical way to go into the market, after the busy years for the last several years with construction spending. So we see a good response from our customer base, and we have healthy backlogs in our long products right now.

我們傾向於在鐵路生產和結構生產之間取得​​平衡。我認為總的來說，我想說市場空間已經從更多製造商直接前往工廠的關係轉變為更多的服務中心類型的關係。在經歷了過去幾年建築支出的繁忙之後，這又是一種更具歷史意義的進入市場的方式。因此，我們看到客戶群反應良好，而且我們的長材產品目前有大量積壓訂單。

And if I may ask another one on the aluminum project. Have you been able to already secure contracts with some of your customers, or that's still undergoing in terms of discussions with them?

我可以詢問另一位有關鋁項目的人嗎？您是否已經能夠與一些客戶簽訂合同，或仍在與他們進行討論？

Carlos, that's still under discussion. Obviously, it's a -- we're a new mill. And so there's a balance between them making sure that they feel confident that the volume is going to be there. But as I said earlier, we have commitments in place that will support -- in large part, support the first 12 to 18 months of our ramp-up.

卡洛斯，這還在討論中。顯然，我們是一家新工廠。因此，他們之間需要保持平衡，確保他們對銷量的成長充滿信心。但正如我之前所說，我們已做出承諾，將在很大程度上支持我們的前 12 至 18 個月的成長。

Your next question is coming from Timna Tanners from Wolfe Research.

您的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Timna Tanners。

I'm going to ask Carlos' question a different way, if you don't mind, on the long product side. The volumes, as I see them, were sharply down from last year and the year-ago period in the first quarter. So I guess, it sounds like from the answer, you're still seeing quite strong demand. So I guess should we expect that this was a blip and that maybe there were some weather-related reasons and the rest of the year could be more consistent with past years? Or is there something that's changed in your outlook for the long products across structures, bars, those -- all those divisions would be really helpful.

如果您不介意的話，我將從長期產品方面以不同的方式問卡洛斯的問題。據我觀察，第一季的銷售量較去年和去年同期大幅下降。所以我想，從答案來看，您仍然看到了相當強勁的需求。所以我想我們是否應該預期這只是一個曇花一現，也許有一些與天氣有關的原因，今年剩下的時間可能會與過去幾年更加一致？或者您對跨結構、金條等長期產品的看法是否改變了——所有這些部門都會非常有幫助。

Well, I think it's, in large part, some of the seasonality and just the weather-related issues, Timna. The -- and you saw some price adjustment here in the marketplace, whatever that was, 2 months ago? 6 weeks, 8 weeks ago. And again, that wasn't necessarily market pressure that was just absorbing sort of some discounting that leaked into the marketplace over the prior month, 2 months. We feel confident moving forward for the rest of the year in that space.

嗯，我認為這在很大程度上是一些季節性問題以及與天氣相關的問題，蒂姆納。兩個月前，您在市場上看到了一些價格調整，無論是什麼？ 6週、8週前。再說一遍，這不一定是市場壓力，只是吸收了上個月（兩個月）流入市場的一些折扣。我們對今年剩餘時間在該領域的發展充滿信心。

Okay. So maybe particularly challenging first quarter and rest of the year looks solid, it sounds like. All right. And then my other question, if I could, was just if you could remind us about the cadence of contribution from the 4 new lines, the paint lines and the galv lines, and how to think about increasing volume and profitability would be great.

好的。因此，聽起來可能特別具有挑戰性的第一季和今年剩餘時間看起來很穩定。好的。然後我的另一個問題，如果可以的話，就是您能否提醒我們 4 條新生產線、油漆生產線和鍍鋅生產線的貢獻節奏，以及如何考慮增加銷量和盈利能力，那就太好了。

Yes, Timna, the -- all 4 of the process lines at this point have actually run product. We staged the start-up to best utilize our teams and also to really focus on improving the start-up process for the other lines. So a paint line in Terre Haute is up and running well, shipping prime product. We expect that, that ramps up through second quarter, third quarter, getting up closer and closer to what the final production will be.

是的，Timna，此時所有 4 條生產線都已實際運作產品。我們安排啟動是為了充分利用我們的團隊，並真正專注於改善其他生產線的啟動流程。因此，特雷霍特的一條油漆生產線已啟動並運行良好，正在運送優質產品。我們預計，這一情況將持續到第二、第三季度，越來越接近最終產量。

On the converse, the new galvanizing line down in Sinton actually started up very well. It started up in January and is solidly contributing at a very high rate already, which, as Mark said, the team has done a fabulous job getting that line making quality like that so quickly. We have an all hands on deck approach. So all the other mills are supporting the team.

相反，辛頓的新鍍鋅生產線實際上啟動得很好。它於一月份啟動，並且已經以非常高的速度做出了穩定的貢獻，正如馬克所說，該團隊做得非常出色，使該生產線的質量如此之快。我們採取全員參與的方法。所以所有其他工廠都在支持這個團隊。

And we're continually moving people through to keep the energy high. So I see the second galvanizing line in Terre Haute coming up Q2 into more operational status and progressing to the end of the year, the paint line through Q2 through Q3 at Terre Haute. And then the new paint line in Sinton, Texas will actually be maturing to the end of the year. So all 4 units will be contributing soundly in second quarter, and progressing through the third, fourth quarter.

我們不斷地讓人們保持活力。因此，我預計特雷霍特的第二條鍍鋅生產線將在第二季度進入更多營運狀態，並將持續到今年年底，即特雷霍特第二季度到第三季度的油漆生產線。然後，德克薩斯州辛頓的新油漆生產線實際上將在今年年底成熟。因此，所有 4 個單位都將在第二季度做出良好貢獻，並在第三、第四季度取得進展。

Your next question is coming from Katja Jancic from BMO Capital Markets.

您的下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Katja Jancic。

On Sinton, can you provide a bit more color how we should think about the utilization rates in the rest of the year?

關於 Sinton，您能否提供更多信息，讓我們了解今年剩餘時間的利用率？

As we had talked, we're about 70% through first quarter. We did take some time for a significant outage in April that was planned to, among other things, address the power problem we had with the primary side voltage at the plant. So we see a really good path to 80% progressing through operational by the end of the year, getting up in the capacity.

正如我們所說，第一季完成率約為 70%。我們確實花了一些時間在四月份進行了一次重大停電，計劃除其他外，解決我們在工廠初級側電壓方面遇到的電力問題。因此，我們看到了一條非常好的道路，到今年年底，營運進度將達到 80%，提高產能。

In front of us, we see better and better performance, routine performance every day. So as the team encounters challenges, they work through them quicker. And through all this, they remain a very safe operation, which is so important during start-up. So the team is in place, the new assets will allow us to provide the best mix possible upstream so that the efficiency of the plant can really be explored further. So we continue to be very robust on where we're going and the success of the team.

在我們面前，我們看到越來越好的表現，每天例行公事的表現。因此，當團隊遇到挑戰時，他們會更快地解決它們。透過這一切，它們仍然是非常安全的操作，這在啟動過程中非常重要。因此，團隊已經就位，新資產將使我們能夠在上游提供盡可能最佳的組合，從而真正進一步探索工廠的效率。因此，我們對我們的發展方向和團隊的成功仍然非常堅定。

Maybe I missed this, but was there a power issue during the first quarter?

也許我錯過了這一點，但是第一季是否出現了電力問題？

We had talked about the primary side power last year and having some transformers that needed to be replaced. And that equipment has very long lead times. Our team was able to secure some shorter-term solutions that we've engineered into place and done the construction. So now that the outage is over, we could put that equipment in with the power off. We look to bring the new transformer support, so that the plant has full operational capacity.

去年我們曾討論過初級側電源以及一些需要更換的變壓器。而且該設備的交貨時間很長。我們的團隊能夠獲得一些短期解決方案，我們已經設計到位並完成了施工。現在停電已經結束，我們可以在斷電的情況下將設備投入使用。我們希望帶來新變壓器的支持，使工廠擁有全面的運作能力。

We've been internally limited at about 80% of the power capability on the melting furnaces. So at this point now, this will help us remove that restriction. When it's finally utilized, it will be somewhere between now and the end of May. But this April outage was key to give us the opportunity to get the construction done to work on the high-voltage bus. It requires the whole plant to be -- have the power off. So again, great work happening. It's unfortunate. These are long-lead-time items. And we've remedied the situation that we believe contributed to it. So we're very excited this problem will be behind us here shortly.

我們內部將熔爐的功率容量限制在 80% 左右。所以現在，這將幫助我們消除該限制。當它最終被使用時，將會是從現在到五月底之間的某個時間。但今年四月的停電是關鍵，讓我們有機會完成高壓匯流排的施工。它要求整個工廠斷電。再次，偉大的工作正在發生。很不幸。這些是交貨時間較長的物品。我們已經糾正了我們認為造成這種情況的情況。因此，我們非常高興這個問題很快就會得到解決。

Your next question is coming from Lawson Winder from Bank of America.

您的下一個問題來自美國銀行的勞森溫德。

Mark, Theresa, Barry, thank you for today's update. Could you share with us your views on the CRC, HRC spreads that have been quite robust recently? What are your thoughts on what's driving that? And I know you don't like to guide to pricing, but what are your -- I'll try this one and ask what your thoughts are on what that might look like going forward?

馬克、特蕾莎、巴里，謝謝你們今天的更新。您能否與我們分享您對最近相當強勁的CRC、HRC價差的看法？您對推動此趨勢的因素有何看法？我知道你不喜歡指導定價，但你的想法是什麼——我會嘗試這個，並詢問你對未來可能會發生什麼的想法？

I will start. I would just reiterate what I've always said in past calls. Coated products are gaining more and more market share just generally. And there are some pretty dynamic changes within the marketplace that is even added to that. If you think about the solar market, which is absolutely huge, huge today. You're consuming around about 25 tons of coated product per megawatt.

我會開始。我只想重申我在過去的電話中一直說的話。塗層產品總體上正在獲得越來越多的市場份額。市場內部也發生了一些相當動態的變化。如果你想想太陽能市場，今天它絕對是巨大的。每兆瓦大約消耗 25 噸塗層產品。

And again, we're selling Nextracker and a whole bunch of folks. I think we're something like 300,000 tons a year or thereabouts or even higher into that marketplace. And that's coated flat roll, people turn that into tubes for the support structure of solar. So there are more and more applications being served by coated products today. It's a tight market, and it's supporting the higher spread.

再說一次，我們正在銷售 Nextracker 和一大群人。我認為我們每年向該市場的產量約為 30 萬噸左右，甚至更高。那是塗層平卷，人們把它變成太陽能支撐結構的管子。因此，如今塗層產品的應用範圍越來越廣。這是一個緊張的市場，並支撐著更高的價差。

I'd like to add to that, Mark, too, that the teams have been diversifying our coated profile. So we have many different kinds of coatings that we offer. And those various product lines provide a very good supply solution to our customers. So the whole supply chain has been maturing for these products, and it allows us to move our tons to balance our production needs as well as where the markets are interesting.

馬克，我還想補充一點，團隊一直在使我們的塗層輪廓多樣化。因此，我們提供多種不同類型的塗料。這些不同的產品線為我們的客戶提供了非常好的供應解決方案。因此，這些產品的整個供應鏈已經日益成熟，這使我們能夠轉移大量貨物來平衡我們的生產需求以及市場感興趣的地方。

So, we continue to believe that the spreads between coated and hot roll are -- will be attractive. And it's an area where we've really invested quite a bit of money over the last several years to make sure we have the right capabilities at our disposal and the right supply chain solutions for what the customers are asking for.

因此，我們仍然相信塗層捲和熱捲之間的價差將具有吸引力。在過去的幾年裡，我們確實在這個領域投入了大量資金，以確保我們擁有合適的能力，以及滿足客戶需求的合適的供應鏈解決方案。

Maybe if I could just ask a follow-up on your -- you've provided some commentary on fabrication order backlog and then the pricing on that and indicated it was above pre-COVID levels. Maybe if I could just try to get a little bit more color on that. Would it be fair to say that pricing in your new bookings and backlog, at least, are converging to some level, and perhaps ask how that might compare to 2023 levels?

也許我可以詢問您的後續情況——您已經提供了一些關於製造訂單積壓的評論，然後是定價，並表明它高於新冠疫情前的水平。也許我可以嘗試在上面多一點色彩。可以公平地說，您的新預訂和積壓訂單的定價至少正在趨於某種水平，也許會問這與 2023 年的水平相比如何？

Lawson, I don't think that we're talking about comparing to 2023 levels. I don't know if you were speaking specifically about pricing, if you are speaking about volume. But the pricing that's in the backlog and the current spot pricing that we have, they are converging, to your point, which would be expected as pricing stabilizes.

Lawson，我認為我們討論的不是與 2023 年水準的比較。我不知道你是在具體談論價格，還是在談論數量。但是，積壓訂單中的定價和我們當前的現貨定價，它們正在趨同，符合您的觀點，隨著定價穩定，這將是預期的。

Your next question is coming from Tristan Gresser from BNP Paribas.

您的下一個問題來自法國巴黎銀行的 Tristan Gresser。

Yes. Maybe a quick follow-up just on the fab business. It was my understanding we should have seen some further moderation in ASP in Q2. You talk about the backlog stability and forward pricing, et cetera. So is this still the base case that we should see another leg down in Q2, before we stabilize?

是的。也許只是對晶圓廠業務進行快速跟進。據我了解，我們應該會在第二季看到 ASP 進一步放緩。您談到了積壓穩定性和遠期定價等等。那麼，在穩定之前，這仍然是我們應該在第二季度看到另一波下跌的基本情況嗎？

Tristan, this is Theresa. We're not specifically giving guidance on any of our segments from an earnings perspective. We don't do that, but I'll talk to you about certain levers. So, we do expect, as Mark said earlier, and you would see this normally, but we will have higher volumes, both across fabrication steel and mills recycling, as we move through the year, which is generally the case in the second, third quarter environment as you move out of the seasonality into stronger demand periods.

特里斯坦，這是特蕾莎。我們不會從獲利角度專門對我們的任何細分市場提供指導。我們不這樣做，但我會和你談談某些槓桿。因此，正如馬克之前所說，我們確實預計，您通常會看到這種情況，但隨著今年的進展，我們在製造鋼和工廠回收方面的產量將會更高，這通常是第二、第三年的情況當您從季節性進入需求強勁時期時的季度環境。

So we absolutely expect to see that. There's also the potential for additional support that we believe will be there as it relates to the public funding, probably more specifically in the second half of the year and then even more impactful, at least in my opinion, in 2025, which will help provide demand -- fixed asset demand-driven increases in volumes. As it relates to the pricing and fabrication, we said that the change or the differential in pricing should start to diminish as it's been stabilized, really it starts stabilizing in middle of the fourth quarter and certainly remains so in kind of January, March, February -- sorry, January, February, March time frame.

所以我們絕對希望看到這一點。我們認為還有可能提供額外的支持，因為它與公共資金相關，更具體地說，可能是在今年下半年，然後甚至更有影響力，至少在我看來，是在2025 年，這將有助於提供需求－固定資產需求驅動的數量增加。由於它與定價和製造有關，我們說過，隨著價格的穩定，價格的變化或差異應該開始縮小，實際上它在第四季度中期開始穩定，並且在1 月、3 月、2 月肯定會維持這種狀態。

So you need to take a view on that price differential that we've kind of just helped explain. And then on the steel input costs. So they keep about 8 weeks -- probably about 8 weeks of inventory, principally flat rolled on the ground. So as that pricing has changed in the first quarter, those input costs will move into the second quarter as well.

因此，您需要對我們剛剛幫助解釋的價格差異有一個看法。然後是鋼材投入成本。所以他們保留了大約 8 週——可能是大約 8 週的庫存，主要是平鋪在地上。因此，由於第一季的定價發生了變化，這些投入成本也將轉移到第二季。

Okay, that's really helpful. And maybe another question on the situation in Mexico. You kind of have a unique perspective there, you sell quite some volumes in the country, you're building in the country, but you're also a U.S. steel producer first.

好的，這真的很有幫助。也許還有一個關於墨西哥局勢的問題。你們在那裡有獨特的視角，你們在該國銷售了相當多的銷量，你們在該國建造，但你們首先也是一家美國鋼鐵生產商。

So I mean, the situation, the U.S., Mexico situation kind of worsened a bit on the trade front, talks of tariffs, retaliation. So what's your view on the latest development? Do you believe that the situation could worsen? And what are kind of your options if it does happen?

所以我的意思是，美國、墨西哥的情況在貿易方面、關稅談判、報復方面有點惡化。那麼您對最新進展有何看法？您認為情況可能會惡化嗎？如果真的發生了，你有什麼選擇？

Well, today, we haven't seen any, I don't believe, Barry, any direct impact to our business. We grew substantial market share in Mexico last year. We shipped, I think, 600,000 tons or so down there. I think it's more of a wait-and-see situation. It's sort of a tit for tat going back and forth. But I think again, just as you saw with the U.S. MCA some years ago, the U.S. and Mexico are huge trading partners, and these things get worked out.

好吧，巴里，今天我們還沒有看到任何對我們業務的直接影響，我不相信。去年我們在墨西哥的市佔率大幅成長。我想，我們在那裡運送了大約 60 萬噸。我認為這更多是一種觀望的情況。這有點針鋒相對的來回。但我又想，就像幾年前你在美國MCA看到的那樣，美國和墨西哥是巨大的貿易夥伴，這些事情都會得到解決。

All right. That's clear. And maybe just the last one. You mentioned in your outlook in your prepared remarks that you expect lower imports. Can you discuss that a little bit? And there have been some discussion at the high level between the U.S. and Europe of potential carbon-based tariffs. Do you believe that's still on the table and that could potentially materialize depending on who is the next president in the United States?

好的。很清楚。也許只是最後一個。您在準備好的發言中的展望中提到，預計進口量將會減少。能稍微討論一下嗎？美國和歐洲高層就潛在的碳關稅進行了一些討論。您是否認為這個問題仍在討論中，並且有可能實現，這取決於誰是美國下一任總統？

Well, I think our position on the carbon border adjustment mechanisms, we don't see any meaningful change in American policy. There definitely is a lot of interest in Europe and the EU will continue to go forward with their plans. After the election, we would expect that there will be some kind of a united front to find out how to keep trading with Europe. We do believe that's a good thing for us as these develop, particularly with our incredibly low sustainability position. So we have a great position to lead into these kind of tariffs.

嗯，我認為我們在碳邊界調整機制上的立場，我們沒有看到美國政策有任何有意義的變化。歐洲肯定有很多興趣，歐盟將繼續推進他們的計畫。大選後，我們預計將會出現某種統一戰線來找出如何繼續與歐洲進行貿易。我們確實相信，隨著這些發展，這對我們來說是一件好事，特別是在我們的永續發展地位極低的情況下。因此，我們在引入此類關稅方面處於有利地位。

We do see certain coated products moving into the country that are concerning. And as we address those through our downstream distribution and our customer base, we are aware of where certain products are moving in the country. And we do see certain areas where it's elevated. And we're doing our best to respond to that competitive challenge, as other economies kind of flush towards us when they get soft where they are. So, we're always monitoring it. There are solutions we'll look at, but we take that on a day-by-day basis.

我們確實看到某些塗層產品進入了相關國家。當我們透過下游分銷和客戶群解決這些問題時，我們了解某些產品在該國的流向。我們確實看到某些區域的溫度有所升高。我們正在盡最大努力應對這項競爭挑戰，因為其他經濟體在軟弱時就會湧向我們。所以，我們一直在監控它。我們會考慮一些解決方案，但我們會每天採取這些解決方案。

Your next question is coming from Will Peterson from JPMorgan.

您的下一個問題來自摩根大通的威爾彼得森。

Nice job on the quarterly execution. I wanted to talk about some of the reshoring trends but -- and also the data center buildout. You've obviously seen a big uptick in data center. But on the same side, we've seen, obviously, warehouses continue to kind of remain negative. So I guess the question is, what is the typical steel intensity you see of data centers? And how does that opportunity compare to a warehouse opportunity, again, since that's kind of normalized here recently?

季度執行情況良好。我想談談一些回流趨勢，還有資料中心的擴建。您顯然已經看到資料中心的大幅成長。但在同一方面，我們顯然看到，倉庫繼續保持負面狀態。所以我想問題是，您看到的資料中心的典型鋼材強度是多少？再說一遍，這個機會與倉庫機會相比如何，因為最近這種機會已經標準化了？

Bill, this is Barry. I think each project is so different. There's a lot of variables. And we provide materials to all these different types of projects. So depending on what the owner is looking for, where the data center might be located, that will affect the steel intensity.

比爾，這是巴里。我認為每個項目都是如此不同。有很多變數。我們為所有這些不同類型的項目提供材料。因此，根據業主的需求、資料中心可能位於何處，這將影響鋼材強度。

But generally, the packages aren't wildly different than warehousing. And it really depends on where they're going to go and who's designing it. So that flexibility in providing the way we look at lots of different general contractors and lots of different engineering firms, we have solutions for each of them.

但一般來說，包裹與倉儲並沒有太大不同。這實際上取決於他們要去哪裡以及設計者是誰。因此，我們可以靈活地看待許多不同的總承包商和許多不同的工程公司，我們為每個人提供了解決方案。

So as they go, they might be -- maybe think of it maybe it's a less steel-intensive job, but it might have more design work involved. And the opposite may be true where it's a straightforward design work in bigger tons. So it's really a broad spectrum across these different projects. So depending on each one, it's really hard to say.

因此，隨著他們的發展，他們可能會——也許想想，這可能是一項鋼材密集程度較低的工作，但可能涉及更多的設計工作。如果是大批量的簡單設計工作，情況可能恰恰相反。所以這些不同的項目確實是一個廣泛的範圍。所以具體要看每個人的情況，這很難說。

But it is definitely an area where there continues to be interest because of the artificial intelligence, all the thoughts about what's going to be needed for that cloud computing. And so we remain very interested in there, trying to provide good solutions to the various stakeholders who are building those facilities.

但這絕對是一個人們持續感興趣的領域，因為人工智慧，以及關於雲端運算需要什麼的所有想法。因此，我們仍然對此非常感興趣，試圖為正在建造這些設施的各個利益相關者提供良好的解決方案。

Okay. So I guess it just really depends on the project. If I could ask a second question maybe to Theresa. So CapEx came in a bit lower than expected. But I guess, how should we think about the cadence of CapEx through the remainder of the year, presumably to reach the $2 billion number you've provided in the past?

好的。所以我想這實際上取決於項目。如果我可以問第二個問題，也許可以問特蕾莎。因此，資本支出略低於預期。但我想，我們該如何考慮今年剩餘時間內的資本支出節奏，大概是為了達到你們過去提供的 20 億美元的數字？

Yes. The biggest chunk of capital will relate to, obviously, the aluminum investment. And we would expect to see those tick up in the second and third quarter, as equipment continues to arrive and they hit certain milestones. So you should see the bulk of that additional CapEx or remaining CapEx being in the second and the third quarter, probably about equal and then probably go down to about the same level you saw in the first quarter and the fourth quarter.

是的。顯然，最大的資本將與鋁投資有關。我們預計，隨著設備不斷到達並達到某些里程碑，這些數量將在第二季和第三季增加。因此，您應該會看到大部分額外資本支出或剩餘資本支出出現在第二季度和第三季度，可能大致相等，然後可能會下降到與第一季和第四季度大致相同的水平。

Your next question is coming from John Tumazos from John Tumazos Very Independent Research.

您的下一個問題來自 John Tumazos Very Independent Research 的 John Tumazos。

I see that you're not staggering the 3 aluminum slab melt shops, with 1 or 2 of them to follow. Does that mean that you have a lot of customers pent up already for the aluminum rolling mill and that you're concerned that you need the raw material because it might sell out fast?

我發現你並沒有讓 3 個鋁板熔化車間錯開，而其中的 1 或 2 個也緊跟在後。這是否意味著您已經有很多客戶對鋁軋機感到壓抑，並且您擔心您需要原材料，因為它可能會很快賣完？

Or is Mexico slab mill getting sequenced first because your scrap collection is very advanced in Mexico? And is there a concern that it might take a little longer to develop the scrap flow in Arizona and Mississippi?

或者是墨西哥板坯廠首先被排序，因為您的廢料收集在墨西哥非常先進？是否有人擔心亞利桑那州和密西西比州的廢棄物流發展可能需要更長的時間？

Well, I wish it was all absolute strategic, but some of it is just luck or bad luck, John. But firstly, the satellite mills will -- or slab plants will be pretty well focused on UBC. And so the Columbus mill itself will have to produce the 5000, 6000 automotive stuff and some of the industrial stuff.

好吧，我希望這一切都是絕對的戰略性的，但其中一些只是運氣或壞運氣，約翰。但首先，衛星工廠或板坯工廠將主要集中在 UBC。因此，哥倫布工廠本身必須生產 5000、6000 輛汽車產品和一些工業產品。

So the Columbus mill shop, at least 1 or 2 of the furnaces will come up reasonably early. We're focused on SLP or the Mexican facility, to be honest, because that one, the property was purchased first. Everything went incredibly well. The permitting went incredibly well. And it just is in line. Our property in Arizona, to be honest, had some initial permitting, I would say, slowdown. I mean it's just a bureaucracy delay that delayed that facility by several months.

因此，哥倫布工廠至少有 1 到 2 個熔爐會較早出現。說實話，我們關注的是 SLP 或墨西哥工廠，因為該工廠的房產是首先購買的。一切都進行得非常順利。許可進展得非常順利。而且它正好排成一行。老實說，我們在亞利桑那州的房產最初獲得了一些許可，我想說，速度放緩。我的意思是，這只是官僚主義的拖延，導致該設施延遲了幾個月。

So it's fair to be lucky than smart.

所以，運氣比聰明是公平的。

I've been -- I won't tell you the language my dad used some time ago, but he called me a lucky critter, let's just put it that way. And I've been lucky all my life, and you need luck in life. So -- and the biggest luck I have is being surrounded by a phenomenal team, to be honest. So...

我一直——我不會告訴你我父親不久前使用的語言，但他稱我為幸運的小動物，讓我們這樣說吧。我一生都很幸運，你的生活也需要運氣。所以——老實說，我最大的幸運就是被一支出色的團隊包圍著。所以...

Thank you. That concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the call back over to Mr. Millett for any closing remarks.

謝謝。我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將電話轉回給米利特先生，讓他作結束語。

Super. Thank you, Matthew, and thank you for those that remain on the call and even greater thanks for those that support us, our shareholders. For us, hopefully, we've articulated that we have a very, very constructive near term on the markets, the start-up at Sinton and other sort of growth opportunities, the 4 lines.

極好的。謝謝你，馬修，感謝那些仍然參加電話會議的人，更感謝那些支持我們、我們的股東的人。對我們來說，希望我們已經明確表示，我們在市場上有一個非常非常有建設性的短期前景，辛頓的新創公司和其他類型的成長機會，即 4 條生產線。

I think what makes us even more excited, to be honest, is just a long-term competitive position. We are the -- one of the most efficient lowest-cost producers in the world. We have a very balanced, I think, product portfolio and a very balanced kind of circular manufacturing profile. So we've got a lot of pull-through volume from our downstream from fabrication and from our conversion plants.

我覺得更讓我們興奮的，說實話，只是一個長期的競爭地位。我們是世界上最高效、成本最低的生產商之一。我認為，我們擁有非常平衡的產品組合和非常平衡的循環製造概況。因此，我們從下游的製造和轉換工廠獲得了大量的吞吐量。

So -- and that amounts to about 2 million tons a year today. So the pull-through volume is very, very strong. It allows us for that -- the higher and more uniform cash generation through-cycle. I think Barry said we were at 87% utilization when the industry was at 77%. And that's been a historical norm for us. And I believe the -- our position in -- from a sustainability carbon footprint perspective is a huge, huge advantage.

那麼，今天的產量約為每年 200 萬噸。所以拉動成交量非常非常強。它使我們能夠實現更高、更均勻的現金產生週期。我記得 Barry 說過，當產業利用率為 77% 時，我們的利用率為 87%。這對我們來說是一個歷史常態。我相信，從永續發展碳足跡的角度來看，我們的立場是一個巨大的優勢。

And I don't believe everyone understands it. Our flat roll mills are reportedly and not us reporting it, but our automotive -- European automotive manufacturers are suggesting that our 2 current mills, Butler and Columbus, are likely the lowest carbon footprint of any sheet producers in the world, and Texas is going to be somewhat similar. So that's allowing us to gain huge market traction, certainly in automotive. We actually have more interest than we can support today in that arena. And if you look at the fact that we're already here and the rest of the world is spending billions and billions of dollars to get to where we are.

而且我不相信每個人都能理解它。據報道，我們的平軋機不是我們報告的，而是我們的汽車- 歐洲汽車製造商表示，我們現有的兩家工廠，巴特勒和哥倫布，可能是世界上所有板材生產商中碳足跡最低的，而德克薩斯州正在有點相似。因此，這使我們獲得了巨大的市場吸引力，尤其是在汽車領域。事實上，我們對這個領域的興趣超出了我們今天所能支持的範圍。如果你看看我們已經在這裡的事實，而世界其他國家正在花費數十億美元來達到我們現在的水平。

And recent discussions with a couple of different European companies suggested to us that just their conversion from blast furnace to sort of electric arc furnace and the DRI facilities. It's likely going to increase the conversion cost by $200, $250 a ton. And if you think about where that puts us on the global cost curve, we will be absolutely at the very bottom, and it's a very envious position to be.

最近與幾家不同的歐洲公司的討論向我們建議，他們只需將高爐轉變為電弧爐和 DRI 設施即可。這可能會使每噸的轉換成本增加 200 至 250 美元。如果你考慮我們在全球成本曲線上的位置，我們絕對會處於最底部，這是一個非常令人羨慕的位置。

But most importantly, long term, we would suggest that it supports much higher through-cycle spreads. We've seen it in recent years, that's going to continue. Our earnings are going to be positively impacted by it. So incredibly excited for SDI going forward.

但最重要的是，從長遠來看，我們建議它支援更高的整個週期利差。近年來我們已經看到了這種情況，而且這種情況還會繼續下去。我們的收入將受到它的正面影響。對 SDI 的未來感到非常興奮。

for those, again, employees on the call, thank you, each and every one of you for everything you do each and every day. We can't be here doing what we do without you. And you all put in a tremendous quarter and truly sort of punctuated the positive combination of culture and technology in creating the best financial metrics of any steel company, I think, in the world.

再次感謝那些參加電話會議的員工，感謝你們每一個人每天所做的一切。沒有你，我們就無法在這裡做我們所做的事情。你們都投入了巨大的季度精力，真正體現了文化與技術的積極結合，創造了我認為世界上任何鋼鐵公司最好的財務指標。

Thanks to our customers. Again, we can't do it without you and our service providers and everyone else, just thank you for your support. Have a great day.

感謝我們的客戶。再次強調，沒有您和我們的服務提供者以及其他所有人，我們就無法做到這一點，感謝您的支持。祝你有美好的一天。

Once again, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation, and have a great and safe day.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好而安全的一天。