The Brazilian flats producer Usiminas is considering the restart of its blast furnace number 3 in mid-October, which has been idled for revamping since April.
According to the local press, the information is from a workers union linked to the Ipatinga plant of Usiminas, as the company did not make comments on the restart date, except that the revamping works “are almost concluded”.
The blast furnace, the largest of the company, has a production capacity of 3.0 million mt per year, having required investments estimated at $540 million for the revamping process.
The original restart date was established for August 10, and the primary cause of the delay related to a shortage of products in the domestic market, which spurred an increase of domestic steel prices, ultimately resulting in a surge of imports, which have reached 3.2 million mt during the first eight months of 2023, 48.6 percent more than in the same period of 2022.
