Steel Mills
ArcelorMittal Idles European Furnaces on Weak Demand, High Costs
Written by Becca Moczygemba
September 6, 2022
ArcelorMittal has announced the idling of furnaces across Europe, including blast furnace A at its steel works in in Asturias, Spain, multiple facilities in Germany, and the blast furnace at its mill 2 in Dunkirk, France.
According to the Luxembourg-based company, blast furnace A in Asturias will be shut down by the end of September. Blast furnace 2 at the Dunkirk facility has been idled since July. Additionally, blast furnace 3 in Dunkirk will undergo maintenance, while two galvanizing lines and a sinter line there will be shut down.
By the end of September, the steelmaker will shut down one of the blast furnaces at its Bremen, Germany, flat steel plant until further notice. Its Hamburg long steel facility will also be affected, as will facilities in Duisburg and Eisenhüttenstadt.
“The high costs of gas and electricity are a heavy burden on our competitiveness. In addition, from October there will be the gas levy planned by the federal government, which will continue to burden us,” said Reiner Blaschek, CEO of ArcelorMittal Germany.
“As an energy-intensive industry, we are extremely affected. With gas and electricity prices increasing tenfold within just a few months, we are no longer competitive in a market that is 25% supplied by imports. We see an urgent need for political action to get energy prices under control immediately,” Blaschek added.
Many European countries are seeing industry slowdowns. The problems stem largely from rising costs and decreased demand, a consequence of the war Ukraine. Companies like ArcelorMittal have had to reduce capacity in response.
Have some news or just want to talk steel? Email me!
By Becca Moczygemba, Becca@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Becca Moczygemba
Read more from Becca MoczygembaLatest in Steel Mills
Algoma changing fiscal year end to Dec. 31
Canada’ Algoma Steel has announced a change in its fiscal year end from March 31 to Dec. 31.
ArcelorMittal Q3 earnings down, still recovering from Mexico strike
ArcelorMittal’s earnings saw notable declines from a year earlier as the company said market conditions remain challenging.
Algoma swings to loss in fiscal Q2 on lower shipments, soft market
Canada’s Algoma Steel swung to a steep loss in the quarter ended Sept. 30 on lower steel shipments, greater consumption of purchased coke, and weakening market conditions.
Ternium Mexico logs record volumes in Q3 as Pesqueria expansion ramps up
Luxembourg-based Ternium achieved record-high sales volumes in Mexico in the third quarter, reaching key milestones at its Pesqueria industrial center, the largest project in the Latin American steelmaker's history.
Cliffs forecasts 2025 rebound after Q3’s weakest demand since Covid
The negative impact of high interest rates on consumer behavior, particularly in the automotive and housing sectors, was the primary driver of the demand weakness seen across the third quarter, according to Cleveland-Cliffs executives.