United States Steel to Restart Granite City Works Blast Furnace, Steelmaking Facilities
March 07 2018 - 7:04AM
United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) announced today it will
restart one of two blast furnaces (“B” blast furnace) and the
steelmaking facilities at its Granite City Works, an integrated
steelmaking plant in Granite City, Ill. The additional
capacity will support anticipated increased demand for steel in the
United States from the pending action announced by President Donald
J. Trump on March 1, 2018, as a result of the U.S. Department of
Commerce Section 232 national security investigation on steel
imports.
“Our Granite City Works facility and employees, as well as the
surrounding community, have suffered too long from the unending
waves of unfairly traded steel products that have flooded U.S.
markets,” said U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive
Officer David B. Burritt. “The Section 232 action announced
by President Trump last week recognizes the significant threat
steel imports pose to our national and economic security. The
President’s strong leadership is needed to begin to level the
playing field so companies like ours can compete, win and create
jobs that support our employees and the communities in which we
operate as well as strengthen our national and economic
security. We will continue to support our customers with the
high-quality products they have come to expect from
U. S. Steel.”
The company anticipates calling back approximately 500 employees
beginning this month. The restart process could take up to
four months.
“We’ve worked closely and cooperatively with leadership of the
United Steelworkers to develop a plan that will help us work
through the restart process in the safest, most efficient manner
possible while enabling longer-term collaboration designed to
improve the plant’s competitiveness,” Burritt said. “We
appreciate and thank the USW leadership and membership for their
passionate efforts around the Section 232 investigation as well as
in support of the restart process at Granite City Works.
Together, we are committed to ensuring the steel industry remains a
fundamental part of American manufacturing because American
manufacturing is stronger with American-made steel.”
The company expects to provide information on the anticipated
financial impact of the restart as more details on the President’s
executive order become available for analysis in the coming
days.
Both Granite City Works blast furnaces and its steelmaking
facilities were idled in December 2015 and the plant’s hot strip
mill was idled in January 2016 in response to challenging market
conditions, including global excess steel capacity and unfairly
traded imports. The pickle line, cold mill and finishing
lines at Granite City Works continued to operate in line with
customer demand. The hot strip mill was restarted in February
2017 as the company adjusted its hot strip mill operating
configuration to meet customer needs after deciding to accelerate
the pace of its asset revitalization efforts. Granite City's
“A” blast furnace remains idled.
CONTACT:
MediaMeghan Cox ManagerExternal CommunicationsT – (412)
433-6777E – mmcox@uss.com
Analysts/InvestorsDan LesnakGeneral ManagerInvestor RelationsT –
(412) 433-1184E –dtlesnak@uss.com
US Steel (NYSE:X)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
US Steel (NYSE:X)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024