Steel Products
Coronavirus Forces JSW USA to Idle Some Operations
Written by Tim Triplett
April 16, 2020
JSW Steel USA will idle facilities and lay off workers at its plants in Mingo Junction, Ohio, and Baytown, Texas, in an effort to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and chaos in the oil and gas market on steel demand.
The company said it will temporarily idle the hot rolling mill and EAF at Mingo Junction in mid-April for approximately four weeks. Planned CAPEX projects related to EAF modernization and general maintenance will be completed.
The company will continue the hot rolling of plate at its Baytown Plate mill as it completes the cold commissioning of Phase-1 of the $260 million plate mill modernization project. Plate processing and shipping also will continue to assure that all customer deliveries are met on time.
The Baytown pipe mill will be put in “care and maintenance” mode from mid-May onwards to complete several maintenance projects so the mill can be restarted on short notice when the market improves, the company said.
Because of these temporary changes to operations at Mingo Junction and Baytown, JSW will temporarily lay off certain employees in April and May. The company has issued WARN Act notices to state and local officials. It expects to call back many of the laid off employees when operations are restarted in May and June.
“We remain committed to supporting all our employees and their families in this challenging environment, and we will continue to provide medical benefits until the end of the month to employees who are laid off during the month,” said JSW USA President and CEO John Hritz. “We believe that with the combination of the medical benefits that we will be providing and the additional unemployment benefits announced under the CARES Act of 2020, the employees who are laid off for a short time will be able to cushion the impact and support their families during this period.”
Added Hritz: “As we continue with our new Mingo Junction Electric Arc Furnace and new Baytown Plate Mill installations, we stand ready to ramp up our capacity utilization at each facility, based on customer demand.”
{loadposition reserved_message}
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products
September energy market update
In this Premium analysis we examine North American oil and natural gas prices, drill rig activity, and crude oil stock levels through September. Trends in energy prices and rig counts serve as leading indicators for oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and line pipe demand.
Market says cutting interest rates will spur stalled domestic plate demand
Market sources say demand for domestic plate refuses to budge despite stagnating prices.
U.S. Steel to halt slab conversion at Granite City Works
U.S. Steel said it plans to reduce slab consumption at its Granite City Works near St. Louis, a company spokesperson said on Monday. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker will shift the production and processing of steel slabs to its Mon Valley Works near Pittsburgh and its Gary Works near Chicago. Citing a United Steelworkers (USW) union memo, […]
SMU Week in Review: September 1-5
Here are highlights of what’s happened this past week and a few upcoming things to keep an eye on.
HR Futures: Market finds footing on supply-side mechanics
As Labor Day marks the transition into fall, the steel market enters September with a similar sense of change. Supply-side fundamentals are beginning to show signs of restraint: imports are limited, outages loom, and production is capped, setting the stage for a market that feels steady on the surface but still unsettled underneath.