ArcelorMittal stops blast furnace in Poland

Europe's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal will shut down blast furnace No. 3 with a capacity of 2.2 million tons per year at its plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza in Poland at the end of September due to falling demand and rising energy prices.

“We are seeing a decrease in demand, which leads to the order book falling below the minimum operating point of 2 blast furnaces,” said ArcelorMittal Poland CEO Frederik Van De Velde. According to Argus estimates, idle will leave the site with a blast furnace capacity of 2.3 million tons/year.

The company also said that European steelmakers are facing record carbon costs following EU sanctions on Russian coal and reduced gas flows from Russia to Europe, leading to more steel imports from outside the EU, where carbon costs are lower. Argus fob Australia valuation for premium low volatility coking coal averaged $410.70 per ton in January-August this year compared to $153.10 per ton for the same period in 2021 and $130.30 per ton in 2020.

European steel producers are currently idle with more than 16 million tons of raw steel per year.