ArcelorMittal Galati, Romania-based subsidiary of the world's largest integrated metals and mining company ArcelorMittal, has started to see signs of recovery both in terms of demand and prices for its products, and is currently operating at 60 percent of its production capacity, ArcelorMittal Galati CEO Thierry Le Gall has stated.
"The crisis has not ended, but the situation improves. Compared with the beginning of the current year, the demand for rolled coils started to grow, whereas the plate segment was very affected, and the market is down now," Mr. Le Gall said.
In addition, Mr. Le Gall pointed to a 20 percent increase for steel prices compared to the minimal prices from the end of the last year, which led to a decrease of 70 percent year on year in the company's H1 2009 turnover.
"Compared to the minimal levels, prices have increased by almost 20 percent, and this makes me confident in the future prospects of the market. Meanwhile, in the plate segment I expect a slight recovery towards the end of the current year," Mr. Le Gall stated, adding that ArcelorMittal Galati is expected to reach a production level comparable with that from the pre-crisis 2007-2008 years, i.e. about three million mt of steel products per year, only in 2012.
In addition, according to Mr. Le Gall, as soon as the market rebounds, ArcelorMittal Galati is to start considering the construction of a new coking unit, the cost which is estimated at €150-200 million. As SteelOrbis previously reported, in June this year ArcelorMittal Galati closed operations at its coke plant Uzina Cocso-Chimica (UCC) due to the high production cost of coke, and started to import coke from Poland instead.
Mr. Le Gall also confirmed that ArcelorMittal Galati is currently in talks with the Romanian port operator Comvex Constanta in order to conclude a long-term contract for the import of its raw materials.