Steel Mills

Granite City Works Added to US Steel Closures
Written by Sandy Williams
March 26, 2015
US Steel announced Wednesday it would consolidate its North American Flat-Rolled operations and temporarily idle operations at Granite City, Ill. Layoffs at Granite City will be effective on or after May 28, 2015.
Granite City is the primary supplier for US Steel Lone Star Tubular which was issued layoff notices in January due to the slowdown in the tubular market.
The idling of Granite City could add 2,080 employees to the more than 4,500 workers in Alabama, Minnesota and Texas that have been issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices due to weakening conditions in the oil and gas market and the high levels of steel imports flooding U.S. ports. WARN notices, once issued, do not automatically mean that all of the workers will be laid off. In many cases, plants continue to run even after WARN dates have passed.
In a statement US Steel said, “The company routinely adjusts production at its operating facilities to reflect market fluctuations. The consolidation is a result of challenging market conditions that reflect the cyclical nature of the industry. Global influences in the market like reduced steel prices, unfair trade, imports and fluctuating oil prices, continue to have an impact on the business.”
SunCoke Energy, which supplies coke to Granite City Works, issued the following statement.
“SunCoke Energy supplies coke to U.S. Steel’s Granite City Works under a long term, take or pay contract until 2025 and the temporary idling doesn’t change any obligations for US Steel under this contract. We value our long standing relationship with US Steel and will assist them in managing through the situation, which may include shipping coke to other US Steel facilities.”

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills

Cliffs unveils new hydrogen-powered stainless line in Ohio
CEO Lourenco Goncalves, flanked by state leaders and union reps, touted the project as proof that US manufacturing is not only alive, but also advancing.

Cliffs idles Steelton, Riverdale, and Conshohocken operations
Cliffs has idled facilities in Riverdale, Ill., and Conshohocken and Steelton, Pa.

Radius loss narrows, volumes climb in ‘healthy’ West Coast market
Stronger steel demand in the Western US, rising scrap flows, and improved rolling mill utilization drove sequential gains for Portland, Ore.-based Radius Recycling.

AISI: Raw steel production backs off multi-year high
US raw steel output edged lower last week after hitting a multi-year high in mid-June, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Private equity firm Atlas Holdings to acquire Evraz North America
Atlas Holdings said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Evraz North America (Evraz NA). The Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm said it expects the deal for the Chicago-based steelmaker to close in the second quarter of 2025 subject to various closing condition.