U.S. Steel, Mittal reduce capacity

Staff -- Purchasing, 6/2/2005

U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh has taken a blast furnace offline at its Gary Works site in Indiana "to run its four other domestic steel producing plants at more efficient levels to keep flat-rolled inventories in line with customer needs," the company said.

Mittal Steel USA in Chicago also is taking further steps to match output at Indiana Harbor Works in Indiana and a Cleveland plant with inventory adjustments occurring in the marketplace.

U.S. Steel says it now plans to reduce flat-rolled shipments in the second quarter by 7% from first-quarter output, which is expected to result in annual shipments that will be lower than the company's most recent projection of 14.5 million tons.

Louis L. Schorsch, CEO of Mittal Steel USA, noted in a statement that "the excess inventory in the distribution sector that was built up in the last half of 2004 is still being worked down. Given that, it is appropriate that we adjust our production and use this opportunity to undertake necessary maintenance and improvements."