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Plant managers predict the next six months

Louisiana is gearing up for another bubble of industrial construction.

That’s according to a Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance survey of member plant managers.

While many leaders at the 28 sites who responded forecast production, capital spending and employment to remain mostly steady over the next six months, the organization’s overall economic index derived from survey responses indicates an expanding economy.

Strong increases in hiring and spending following the pandemic low point have leveled off for now, though a spate of recent project announcements has the region’s industry gearing up for another increase in construction activity, says Connie Fabre, GBRIA’s president and CEO.

However, some plant leaders have expressed concerns about the potential for a recession, in addition to long-standing workforce and regulation worries as well as product demand.

The organization comprises more than 60 petrochemical, paper, pharmaceutical, storage terminal and other industrial facilities located in the seven parishes around Baton Rouge.

Here’s a look at the data:

2022 THIRD QUARTER FORECAST

Question

How do you expect your plant’s production to change in the next 6 months?

How do you expect your company’s capital expenditures to change at your plant in the next 6 months?

How do you expect your plant’s COMPANY employment to change in the next 6 months?

How do you expect your company’s CONTRACT exployment to change in the next 6 months?

Increase No Change Decrease Index

25% 71% 4% 71

43% 57% 0% 93

46% 54% 0% 96

36% 64% 0% 86

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

GBRIA PLANT MANAGERS ECONOMIC OUTLOOK INDEX

1Q 2019 2Q 2019 3Q 2019 4Q 2019 2Q 2020 3Q 2020 4Q 2020 1Q 2021 2Q 2021 3Q 2021 4Q 2021 1Q 2022 3Q 2022

Sustainable Steel:

Nucor leading the way in low-carbon steel production to build our modern economy

As the nation shifts focus to rebuild better with safe, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, steel production in America is more critical than ever. And how that steel is made matters. Nucor Corporation is delivering both safe and sustainable infrastructure solutions, beginning with its raw materials produced in south Louisiana.

DRI: A GREENER PROCESS

In At its state-of-the-art facility in St. James Parish, Nucor Steel Louisiana produces natural gas-based direct reduced iron—or DRI—which is blended with recycled scrap in Nucor’s steel mills to make higher grades of steel. Making new steel from DRI and scrap forms the foundation for the sustainable steel used to build onshore and offshore wind towers, solar installations, electric vehicle and other critical infrastructure for our modern American economy.

DRI is made from high-grade iron ore reduced by natural gas at extremely high temperatures to provide highly-metallicized refined iron pellets. By using natural gas, our DRI plant emits only half of the CO2 compared to iron produced in blast furnaces at traditional integrated steel mills. Following production, DRI is shipped by barge on the Mississippi River from the St. James facility to Nucor steel mills nationwide.

“Producing DRI with natural gas allows Nucor to make the higher grades of steel increasingly demanded by our customers while maintaining our low carbon production advantage over competitors in Europe and Asia that make steel in high-emissions blast furnaces,” said Calvin Hart, General Manager, Nucor Steel Louisiana.

ENVIROMENTAL PIONEER

Nucor pioneered the process of making steel in the U.S. by recycling scrap metal in Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs). Last year, Nucor recycled nearly 23 million tons of ferrous scrap metal to produce new steel that is 100% recyclable. The company is North America’s largest steel producer and its largest recycler of any type of material. Today, more than 70% of steel made in the U.S. is produced in EAFs, making this country the cleanest place in the world to produce steel.

Using EAFs, Nucor’s corporate-wide greenhouse gas emissions intensity is less than one-quarter the global average, and onefifth of traditional integrated steel producers, which make steel by burning iron ore and coking coal. As part of its environmental commitment, Nucor Corporation has invested over $350 million in environmental process equipment over the last decade to make its operations even safer and more efficient. Nucor Corporation is also the largest buyer of renewable electricity among American steelmakers and is one of the largest corporate buyers overall.

“Our goal is to be the safest and most sustainable steel company in the world. Nucor has invested more than $15 billion dollars in the U.S. over the last decade to grow our portfolio of sustainably made steel products, and we are proud to be able to help our customers reduce their carbon footprint throughout the supply chain.” said Hart.

To learn more, visit nucor.com/sustainability.

SPONSORED BY:

WHAT PRODUCTS ARE MADE WITH DRI?

High-quality steel products require a pure iron source like Nucor’s DRI to be blended with scrap metal to meet stringent quality standards, for example:

• High strength sheet for safer, lighter automobiles • Heavy gauge plate for offshore wind tower foundations • Galvanized solar torque tube for to America’s expanding solar energy markets • Armor plate for military Humvees, aircraft carriers, and destroyers; and • High quality American steel products for heavy equipment, farming equipment,appliances,

HVAC systems and other applications

IN BRIEF

LNG ROUNDUP:

LNG exporter Cheniere Energy Inc. says it will repair and replace equipment at its Louisiana terminal after tests showed it exceeded newly imposed hazardous emissions limits on certain known carcinogens. According to Reuters, testing indicated at least one of Cheniere’s turbines at its liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana failed the new standards, while the turbines in Texas at the company’s only other U.S. LNG facility were meeting the rules. At issue is a rule under the

U.S. Clean Air Act called the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Pollutants, which imposes curbs on emissions of known carcinogens such as formaldehyde and benzene …

A floating liquefied natural gas port proposed for offshore Louisiana is gaining new momentum as global demand for gas keeps soaring, pushed higher by the Ukraine war. In September, Houston-based pipeline company Delfin Midstream reached a preliminary agreement with oil and gas producer Devon Energy, which plans to buy up to 2 million metric tons per year from Delfin LNG. The LNG project’s progress had stalled for years before the war in Ukraine sparked a global energy crunch and drove new interest in natural gas projects in Texas and Louisiana. Now, global buyers are reviewing LNG companies along the Gulf Coast, hunting for competitive prices, low emissions, and proof of speedy execution as they decide on projects to which they can commit …

Australian energy major Woodside Energy has struck two binding LNG sales agreements with the Commonwealth LNG export terminal project in Cameron Parish. The two sale and purchase agreements converted two previous non-binding heads of agreement and cover the supply of up to 2.5-million tons a year of LNG over a 20-year period from Commonwealth’s export facility under development in Cameron Parish. First LNG deliveries are expected to start in mid-2026. TECH TALK:

BASF Geismar is collaborating with LSU chemical engineers to better understand and predict its own production ebbs and flows using artificial intelligence, or AI. BASF engineers asked LSU to develop AI and machine learning solutions to help organize its data and understand how changes in one production unit might force different operating conditions in other, connected units. As part of the effort, BASF is asking SU to develop what it calls “soft sensors,” which are entirely driven by data.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION:

Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles has completed a $4 million air cargo facility that is now available for lease. In addition, Chennault will help secure specialized air cargo ground equipment and offers competitive incentives for air cargo activity. The adjacent aircraft parking apron is 127,000 square feet, able to accommodate large and small cargo aircraft. The facility was built to attract both domestic and international cargo, and the airport plans to work with industry partners to help certify the building for international cargo clearance.

THEY SAID IT

“We are pleased that the Department of the Interior has finally offered the first offshore leases of this administration, but it is disappointing that it took 19 months and an act of Congress to get us to this point.”

COLE RAMSEY, vice president of upstream policy for the American Petroleum Institute

BY THE NUMBERS 15,864,370

Short tons handled by the Port of Greater Baton Rouge in 2021, up 18% from the 13,355,767 short tons it handled in 2020. The facility ranked seventh in the nation for total tonnage in 2020 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

#dirtmafia

Five-S Group

Local Industries Make a Significant Impact on Southwest Louisiana

By providing residents of Southwest Louisiana with consistent employment through a pandemic and multiple natural disasters, local industry continues to be an economic driver for our region. The almost 10,000 good-paying jobs with benefits for direct employees and contractors and another 17,000 associated jobs in the region that exist due to industries result in over $2 billion in annual earnings. Local industries provide generous donations to education and non-profit organizations, and they are 17 of the top 20 property tax payers in Calcasieu Parish. Lake Area Industry Alliance is the umbrella organization between its 24 industrial members and our local community, government officials, educators, business leaders and non-profit organizations. With such a significant impact in our community, the work of LAIA is as important as ever. LAIA will continue to be a conduit of communication to enhance industrial advancements along with partnerships within the community.

GULF COAST TRANSPORTATION at it’s best.

SAFE, RELIABLE & EXPERIENCED GROUND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

LARGE SCALE CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEE SHUTTLES, TURNAROUND EMPLOYEE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, OILFIELD SERVICES CREW CHANGE INCLUDING OFFSHORE, BARGE AND TOWING, DIVE, PETROCHEMICAL CREWS AND AS WELL AS CHARTER, CASINO AND AIRPORT TRANSFER CUSTOMERS.

20+ YEARS OF SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS ALONG THE GULF COAST

Lake Charles • New Orleans/Port Fourchon • Houston • Houma • Gray • Pensacola Mobile • Brownsville • Galveston • Port Arthur • Corpus Christi

24-7 SERVICE

Issue Date: 2022 Fall Ad proof #1

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Active Members of:

• Associated Builders & Contractors • Associated General Contractors • American Subcontractors Association • Construction Financial Managment Association • Mississippi Valley Associated General Contractors • American Council of Engineering Companies Assurance Tax Planning & Consulting Client Advisory Services Litigation Support Business Valuation

Comprehensive Accounting Services

Hannis T. Bourgeois, CPAs & Business Advisors

BATON ROUGE DENHAM SPRINGS NEW ORLEANS HAMMOND

Will Entergy tap the power of wind in the Gulf of Mexico?

Entergy Louisiana, Entergy New Orleans and Diamond Offshore Wind announced last week that they’re jointly evaluating the potential development of wind power generation in the Gulf of Mexico.

The agreement could put Entergy in a position to deliver another source of clean power to customers while also strengthening the region’s economic development.

The agreement provides a legal framework for Entergy and Diamond Offshore Wind to work toward the development of potential offshore wind demonstration projects located in Louisiana state waters and will focus in the near term on the evaluation of grid interconnection to determine the optimal size and locations of future offshore wind development.

“This is an important first step to possibly bring wind power to our Louisiana shores,” said Phillip May, Entergy Louisiana president and CEO. “While there remains work to be done before that happens, we are excited by the opportunity to begin this process.”

Entergy Louisiana currently has approximately 280 megawatts of renewable resources, including the Capital Region Solar facility, which began delivering power to the grid in October 2020. Along with nuclear generation, nearly 30% of the company’s portfolio comes from renewable resources. In addition, the Louisiana Public Service Commission recently approved 475 megawatts of solar power with an additional 2,000 megawatts in the queue.

THEY SAID IT

“You can be for it, you can be against it, and that’s your right. But one thing that’s not accurate: It’s not new technology. We’ve been drilling wells for 100 years here in Louisiana, we’ve been doing injections for over 40. And we’re good at it. We can do it well. We can do it with full oversight. And we can do it in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment.””

THOMAS HARRIS, secretary, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, to Livingston Parish residents opposing a plan to pump carbon into the ground under Lake Maurepas

BY THE NUMBERS $130 MILLION

What H&E Equipment Services has agreed to pay in cash for Illinoisbased One Source Equipment Rental, which has 10 branches in the Midwest and South that provide nonresidential construction and industrial equipment. The transaction was expected to close in Q4. H&E’s rental operations will now extend across 117 branch locations in 28 states.