US Steel Announces Restarting of Idled Granite City Blast Furnace

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Pittsburgh-based steel maker United States Steel Corporation (US Steel) has announced its decision to restart one of the two idled blast furnaces at its Granite City Steel Complex. The decision is on hopes of surge in demand for domestic steel on account of President’s decision to impose hefty tariffs on imported steel products. The decision will see return of nearly 500 workers back to work. The complete restart process could take nearly four months.

According to company press release, it has now decided to restart the “B” blast furnace. The “A” furnace will continue to remain idled, it noted. The estimated financial implications of the restart and more details on the proposed restart will be announced later.

U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt stated that the decision to restart the furnace is expected to support its employees and the communities in which it operates. The company will continue to offer high-quality products to cater rising demand. He hoped that the bold decision taken by the US administration will help to create a much more level-playing field. The company has been working closely with the leadership of the United Steelworkers (USW) in developing a plan that will ensure smooth and efficient restart process.

ALSO READ: US Steel to Invest Up to $325 Million in Capital Projects

US Steel had idled both furnaces and its steel making facilities in the Granite City Works integrated steelmaking plant in Granite City, Ill in December 2015, blaming extremely challenging market situation on account of unfairly traded cheap imports, especially from China. The hot strip mill was idled in January 2016. After almost a year, the company had restarted the hot strip mill operations, thereby reinstating nearly 200 jobs. It must be noted that the plant had employed over 2,000 workers prior to its shutdown of furnaces.

The two blast furnaces at US Steel Granite City Works have a combined production capacity of nearly 2.8 million tons of steel per annum.