Mittal Steel USA idles two blast furnaces

Mittal Steel USA, a leading steel producer in the US, is idling two of its blast furnaces in response to the softening market. Mittal announced Thursday that in response to reduced demand for light flat-rolled products, they will idle two blast furnaces indefinitely to bring production capabilities in line with demand. The company is idling one blast furnace each in Cleveland and its Indiana Harbor facility in East Chicago, Ind. There will be no employee lay-offs and the furnaces will undergo maintenance during their idling period. Once market conditions warrant increased production levels, the blast furnaces will be reactivated. In addition to Mittal Steel's production cuts, U.S. Steel Corp may also curb output if North American demand declines and inventories continue to increase. U.S. Steel Corp.'s CEO John P. Surma said. "I don't like to make a lot of steel to put it on the warehouse floor."