US Steel Kosice decreased steel shipments by 6.1% y/y in Q3

Slovakian steel plant US Steel Kosice (USSK), a subsidiary of US Steel, reduced steel shipments by 6.1% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, to 899 thousand tons. Compared to the previous quarter, the figure increased by 2.7%, according to the company.

Steel production for the period amounted to 970 thousand tons, which is 2% less than in July-September 2023 and 1% q/q. The company’s quarterly steel production does not exceed 1 million tons for the second quarter in a row, and the utilization of steel capacity is at 77-79%.

The average selling price for the period amounted to $802 per tonne, down 5.9% compared to Q3 2023 and 2.3% quarter-on-quarter. The company’s net sales decreased by 11% year-on-year and increased by 0.1% q/q – to $751 million.

In January-September 2024, US Steel Kosice shipped 2.846 million tons of steel to consumers, down 1% year-on-year. Steel production decreased by 8.1% y/y – to 3.03 million tons. Net sales fell by 11% – to $2.43 billion.

In the fourth quarter, USSK expects a decline in sales volumes and average selling prices compared to the third quarter. The company also anticipates a negative impact from higher production costs due to operating at partial capacity, higher energy costs and repair costs associated with unplanned downtime at Continuous Casting Line No. 1. A positive effect from inventory adjustments is expected.

Blast furnace No. 1 at USSK remains shut down after a planned 30-day outage in August, reflecting weak demand. This means that 1.6 million tons of the plant’s annual capacity is currently idle.

As GMK Center reported earlier, US Steel Kosice produced 4.39 million tons of steel in 2023, up 14.5% y/y. The plant’s steel shipments increased by 3.7% y/y – to 3.899 million tons. The average selling price fell by 19.9% y/y – to $873 per tonne.

The company is equipped with three blast furnaces with a total capacity of 5 million tons of pig iron per year. The plant specializes in the production of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and hot-dip galvanized coils.