Steel Mills
Cliffs to place C-6 furnace at Cleveland Works on hot idle: sources
Written by Michael Cowden
September 12, 2024
Cleveland-Cliffs plans to place the C-6 blast furnace at its Cleveland Works in Ohio on hot idle in October, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Some said the idling could prove indefinite. Others said it was more likely temporary due to weak demand and that there would be no layoffs.
The Cleveland-based steelmaker did not respond to a request for comment from SMU.
Market sources were also mixed on the potential impact of the idling. Some said an extended idling could reduce supply and provide a catalyst for higher prices.
Others said the impact would be muted because several of Cliffs’ furnaces have been running well below capacity. Idling the C-6 furnace would allow those furnaces to run fuller and more efficiently without impacting customers, they said.
Cliffs has two active furnaces at Cleveland Works: C-5 and C-6, according to SMU’s furnace status table. The C-6 furnace has a daily capacity of 4,150 short tons. The C-5 furnace has a daily capacity of 4,350 st.
Cliffs took the larger C-5 furnace down for maintenance in February 2022. The furnace was not restarted until August of that year following a full reline.
It is not clear to SMU whether an idling of the C-6 furnace would prove to be equally protracted or for a significantly shorter period.
Michael Cowden
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