US Steel has shut down a blast furnace at its Gary Works plant in Indiana

The company reduced the plant capacity due to the high level of imports and unfavorable conditions in the flat rolled market

US Steel Corporation, one of the largest steel producers in the United States, has shut down BF8 at the Gary Works steel plant in Indiana. ArgusMedia reports about it with the reference to the company’s data.

The blast furnace with a capacity of 1.5 million tons of steel per year has been idle since September 7, 2022. The date of unit’s restart is not yet known.

The plant serves exclusively the flat rolled market, and the idling is associated with a high imports level and unfavorable market conditions.

This is the first closure of rolling plant in the United States in recent times. Local producers point to the constant oversupply of products on the market and the lack of reduction in steel production.

Argus Midwest’s ex-works hot-rolled coil prices have halved since the beggining of the year to $800/t as of September 13.

In addition, US Steel suspended BF3 at Mon Valley Works in Pennsylvania for scheduled maintenance until October of this year. The capacity of the unit is 1.4 million tons of unrefined steel per year.

US Steel predicts that in the third quarter the company’s revenue will decrease by 74% compared to the same period in 2021, and by 46% compared to the previous quarter.

As GMK Center reported earlier, at the beginning of September, Slovak US Steel Kosice announced the shutdown of two blast furnaces. The units were stopped for 60 days with the possibility of adjusting maintenance schedules according to customer requirements.

European steelmakers are suffering from high electricity prices, forcing them to reduce or suspend production.

The leading steel producer ArcelorMittal has temporarily stopped or announced the stoppage of about 7 million tons of the corporation’s annual capacity across Europe. Today, two blast furnaces at the plant in Dunkirk are stopped. From October, the furnaces in Bremen (Germany), Hamburg and Asturias will be also stopped. Also the company postponed the launch of one of the blast furnaces at the Acería Compacta de Bizkaia plant in Spain.

Following ArcelorMittal, US Steel Kosice, Dunaferr, Liberty Ostrava, Ferroatlántica, Ferriere Nord and other have decided to reduce or stop capacity.