The Mexican unit of the global steel giant ArcelorMittal reported without giving details that the blockade of a blast furnace facility and one of its mines by unionized workers has already generated “million-dollar” losses. In addition, it puts the company at risk and thousands of jobs in the country.
“Irreparable damage has been caused to the equipment and substantial million-dollar losses to the company and put at risk the source of employment that supports 8,000 families directly and 50,000 more families indirectly,” the company reported in a press release.
Since last May 24, a group of workers from the National Union of Mining, Metallurgical, Steel and Similar Workers of the Mexican Republic (Sindicato Minero), led by an ally of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, blocked access to a mine and a blast furnace with a production capacity of 2.4 million metric tons (mt) per year of liquid steel.
According to a brief calculation by SteelOrbis, today, Thursday, June 13, the blockade will be 21 days old, which translates into loss of production of some 138,000 mt of liquid steel, a feedstock that is sent 279 miles northeast of Lázaro Cárdenas, to Celaya Guanajuato, where ArcelorMittal produces rebar.
Data from Canacero places ArcelorMittal México as the largest producer of rebar in Mexico with a market share of 18.9 percent, with a production of around 491,400 mt in 2023. Meanwhile, Ternium contributed 18.5 percent, DeAcero 16.8 percent. percent, Simec 11.8 percent and Grupo Acerero 11.6 percent. The rest was in the hands of Gerdau Corsa, Tyasa, Suacero and others.