Pittsburgh-based steel maker U.S. Steel announced its decision to restart blast furnace No.4 at its Gary Works steel mill. The restart comes earlier than anticipated, mainly due to recent recovery in steel market conditions. The blast furnace had been offline since April this year for planned maintenance.
Earlier during a conference call with investors, the company had warned that it would likely keep the No.4 blast furnace at Gary Works idled through at least the end of the current year. However, the rebound in steel market conditions, on account of resumption of operations by automakers, has prompted the company to announce early restart of the furnace. The anticipated market competition on account of proposed acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA assets by Cleveland-Cliffs also led to the decision.
According to company news release, the blast furnace will restart effective Dec 8th. The resumption of production activities at its Northwest Indiana mills has resulted in the company recalling many of its steel workers. The company will continue to evaluate the employment needs as necessitated by evolving market conditions, said U.S. Steel spokeswoman Meghan M. Cox.
The demand for steel as well as steel prices has shown gradual recovery during the recent weeks, following the Covid-19 dropdown.
