ArcelorMittal France, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal, has decided to temporarily idle one of its two blast furnaces at its Fos-sur-Mer plant in the south of France from December, according to local media reports.
The main reason for the suspension of the blast furnace No. 2, which has an annual production capacity of two million mt, is the slowdown in steel demand and the impact of high energy prices. It is not reported how long the stoppage will last as it is uncertain when demand will recover.
ArcelorMittal halted its blast furnaces in Germany, Spain and Poland in September, due to the same reasons, as SteelOrbis previously reported.