US Steel today announced plans to idle Gary Works blast furnace #4 in April. Current expectations are that the furnace will be idled for “at least 48 days.”
The announcement comes two days after ArcelorMittal announced plans to idle a blast furnace at their Indiana Harbor mill.
In a statement, AMUSA spokesperson William Steers said the COVID-19 outbreak had impacted the steelmaker’s key use markets. The decision to idle, he said, was to adapt their capacity to changing demand.