US Steel Kosice increased steel shipments by 21% y/y in Q1

The steel plant continues the planned shutdown of blast furnace No. 2

Slovak steelmaker US Steel Kosice (USSK), a subsidiary of US Steel, increased steel shipments by 21.4% year-on-year – to 1.07 million short tons in the first quarter of this year. This is stated in US Steel’s quarterly report.

In January-March, USSK decreased steelmaking volumes by 1% y/y – to 1.08 million short tons, ensuring capacity utilization at 87%.

The average realized price for steel products in the first quarter was $830 per short ton, compared with $909 a year earlier. The division’s net sales rose 10% year-on-year – to $925 million.

Commenting on the company’s overall performance for the first quarter of 2024, US Steel president and CEO David B. Burritt said the European segment successfully managed the dynamic backdrop of the steel market to deliver better-than-expected performance. However, he said second-quarter results will remain questionable, reflecting growing commercial challenges. The company continued with the planned maintenance of USSK Blast Furnace No. 2 to balance production with demand.

As GMK Center reported earlier, US Steel Kosice produced 4.39 million tons of steel through 2023, up 14.5% y/y. Steel shipments by the mill increased by 3.7% y/y – to 3.899 million tons. The plant is equipped with three blast furnaces with a total capacity of 5 mln tons of pig iron per year. The plant specializes in the production of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and hot-galvanized coil.