Late last week, recently formed RG Steel, based in Sparrows Point, Maryland, issued a letter to employees indicating in a move to "conserve cash," RG Steel will be reducing operations over the next four to six weeks and will likely resume full operations by late January. While the letter to employees didn't indicate exactly which of the mills' operations would be idled, local news reports indicate that the mill's "L" blast furnace, which was just restarted in May, will be shuttered as well as all hot-melting and hot-rolling operations. Meanwhile, the cold and tin mill may also be shut down temporarily as well. Many Sparrows Point workers were also issued temporary layoff notices late last week.
According to other news outlets and steel industry insiders, RG Steel has been struggling with profitability for months and has not been paying its various vendors, including its iron ore and coke supplier, Kinder Morgan.