ArcelorMittal Turns Down Blast Furnace at Indiana Harbor Steel Mill

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Luxembourg-headquartered ArcelorMittal announced its decision to idle blast furnaces in order to align production with demand and to ensure safety of its employees in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

The company announced the decision to idle blast furnace #4 at its Indiana Harbor steel mill in East Chicago. This follows decision by automakers in the region to shuit down their manufacturing plants for cleaning purposes. Incidentally, almost 50% of the business from Indiana Harbor steel mill comes from the automotive industry. The plant features three blast furnaces, employing nearly 400 in total.

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ArcelorMittal USA declared that it will work with the USW union to minimize the impact of the outage, by offering opportunities for displaced workers at the company’s other manufacturing facilities, as far as possible. Additional capacity optimization to align production with end-user demand may be necessary, it noted.

The steelmaker has also decided to cut production at its Dofasco mill in Hamilton, Ontario. The company has decided to blow down No.3 blast furnace at the mill, which is the smallest of three blast furnaces at the mill. In addition, it has also decided to take adequate steps to reduce production at its European facilities.