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| Major US Integrateds Suffer Blast Furnace Accidents |
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Major integrated steel companies in the USA have suffered blast furnace accidents one after another at their works, a situation where domestic supplies of integrated mill products are fast deteriorating, according to information made available in Tokyo. Severstal North America is forced to stop a blast furnace at its Sparrows Point works where a fire broke out at the end of September. Also, AK Steel Corp is forced to stop the No3 blast furnace at its Middletown works where a fire broke out Oct 2. There are no reports so far on what blast furnace accidents both companies have incurred. In Canada, Essar Steel Algoma Inc is reported to have shut down one of the two blast furnaces at its works in the wake of a Sept 24 accident. There is no report on the cause of the accident. In the case of ArcelorMittal Steel USA, the company first planned to resume operations of the No6 blast furnace in early October at its Indiana Harbor works. But the company faces the need to put off refiring the No6 blast furnace by at least one month because the company has yet to secure the necessary workforce. The company is said to have fallen into an obstacle to the production processes for CR sheets and other items at one of its works because of trouble with the pickling unit there. Also, a welding machine accident is said to have broken out at another works. In the USA, domestic demand for steel products is arising in relation to housing construction. Besides, the steel industry is on track to a recovery in its basic direction as President Barack Obama's economic measures show results. Therefore, various production problems this time with major integrated steelmakers have begun to have a serious influence on various customers. In this connection, decreased shipments of steel products this time are seen as having a large influence on various customers than what happened in 2007 when the steel industry was caught in a slump. In this connection, Japan's integrated steelmakers find it difficult to respond accordingly even if they are requested to execute emergency exports of steel products to the USA. They admit that what they can provide for the USA is limited because of the US government's existing antidumping measures on various steel imports from Japan. |
| last modified : Wed 14 Oct, 2009 [10:19] |
