ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is shutting down production due to logistics issues

Disruptions in the supply of raw materials from Ukrainian Railways threaten to bring blast furnace production to a complete halt

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih PJSC announced the shutdown of part of its mining and steelmaking operations due to systemic disruptions in raw material supplies from Ukrainian Railways JSC (UZ). This was stated in a press release.

According to the company, over the past month, the enterprise has not been receiving the necessary volumes of fluxes, which has led to a critical decline in inventories. This has already affected the stable operation of key units. At the same time, problems arose with the shipment of iron ore concentrate, which led to the suspension of ore mining.

As a result, the company was forced to shut down one of its two blast furnaces, two sintering machines, and the ore processing plant. The company warns that if supplies do not improve in the coming days, the second blast furnace, as well as other production facilities, may also be shut down.

The company’s CEO, Mauro Longobardo, noted that the situation is a result of inadequate transportation planning. According to him, the company is not receiving critically important raw materials for pig iron production and is also unable to ship its own products.

“For our company, which has been operating at a loss for four years now, another supply issue could be fatal,” he emphasized, adding that operations are also under pressure from high electricity prices, the introduction of CBAM, and rising imports.

The company stresses that the situation is already having a direct impact on production performance and tax revenues. At the same time, according to the company, Ukrainian is focusing on raising tariffs instead of ensuring the stability of transportation.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih called for immediate action to restore shipments and warned of the risks of systemic consequences for Ukraine’s entire mining and metallurgical industry should the situation continue to deteriorate.

As a reminder, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih lost 300,000 tons of steel exports due to CBAM in the first quarter of 2026, according to Mauro Longobardo’s column for GMK Center. In 2026, the company had planned to ship 1.2–1.25 million tons to Europe—nearly half of its total steel production—but this market has been lost.