Steel Mills

US Steel Idles Gary Works No. 8 BF on Market Conditions, High Imports
Written by Laura Miller
September 15, 2022
United States Steel Corporation has idled the No. 8 blast furnace at its Gary Works in Indiana due to market conditions and high import levels.
A spokeswoman confirmed the idling began on Sept. 7.
“We continue to monitor market conditions and plan to bring the furnace back online when business conditions allow,” she told SMU.
No job losses are taking place as a result of the furnace’s idling, with all employees being reassigned to other areas of Gary Works, she said.
SMU’s blast furnace status table has been updated to reflect the idling.
Gary Works is US Steel’s largest steelmaking complex with an annual raw steel capacity of 7.5 million tons of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheet – including tin mill products. The No. 8 BF has a daily capacity of 3,000 tons of pig iron.
Weaker demand and increased imports were also blamed for the temporary idling of the No. 5 tin line at Gary Works earlier this month.
A month-long outage is also currently underway at the steelmaker’s No. 3 Mon Valley Works blast furnace near Pittsburgh. That planned maintenance outage—to apply shotcrete—was pulled forward from its originally-scheduled date of mid-October.
US Steel released third quarter earnings guidance this week, saying it expects Q3 EBITDA of $825 million to be down nearly 50% sequentially and down 60% from the year-ago quarter. Accelerating market headwinds, including weaker demand, lower shipments, and lower selling prices are the reasoning for the anticipated lower earnings.
Negotiations for a new labor contract between the steelmaker and the United Steelworkers union continue, with wage increases remaining a major area of contention, according to a Sept. 9 USW bargaining update.
By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Laura Miller
Read more from Laura MillerLatest in Steel Mills

Nippon could up investment in USS facilities to $7B: Report
It's the latest twist as the proxy battle heats up for Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel.

Hybar expansion still on the table as Arkansas mill startup nears
As Hybar nears the completion of its $700-million rebar mill in Arkansas, the company said it is still “actively considering” building other steel facilities in the southern US.

Global steel production edges lower in February
February’s global raw steel output is tied with last December's for the fourth-lowest monthly production rate recorded over the past two years.

Fate of U.S. Steel hangs in the balance
The future of U.S. Steel remains unclear, but the proxy fight for control of the company is heating up. Shareholders will cast their votes on the company's future at the annual meeting in May.

Cliffs to idle Dearborn blast furnace, restart Cleveland furnace by July
Cleveland-Cliffs has decided to idle the steelmaking operations at its Dearborn Works in Michigan due to weak automotive demand.