Magnolia fence post company to close, 40 jobs lost

Commercial Metals Company is closing its fence post operations in Magnolia, Arkansas – a move that will result in layoffs of 40 workers.

The company said production will be relocated to its San Marcos, Texas fence post production facility, as operations in Magnolia wind down and cease in their entirety by the end of the company’s third fiscal quarter.

In addition, CMC Steel Arkansas, a rerolling mill operated in Magnolia will “significantly reduce” production levels over the same time period, according to a company release. The decisions are primarily the result of what CMC believes to be unfairly traded and illegally dumped steel products entering the U.S. market, it said.

“It is always a difficult decision to curtail operations which affect our employment levels and the community at large. The issue of global steel overcapacity is having real impacts on people and communities across the country,” said Tracy Porter, President of CMC Americas. “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. This ineffectiveness has now taken a real toll in Magnolia,” Porter added.

Publicly-traded Commercial Metals Company and its subsidiaries manufacture, recycle and market steel and metal products, related materials and services through a network including steel mini-mills, steel fabrication and processing plants.