U.S. Steel May Idle Plant, Citing Market Conditions
October 06 2015 - 7:00PM
Dow Jones News
U.S. Steel Corp. said Tuesday it is exploring consolidation of
its North American flat-rolled operations and may temporarily idle
steelmaking operations at an Illinois plant as it continues to
struggle with demand.
Fluctuating oil prices, reduced rig counts, depressed steel
prices and "unfairly" traded imports have led to the potential
consolidation of operations, the steel producer said.
U.S. Steel said 2,000 employees at its Granite City Works plant
in Illinois would be notified Tuesday of the possibility that the
plant may be idled. In March, the company said it would consider
idling the same plant, though it never had to cease operations.
In June, six steelmakers including U.S. Steel filed a trade
complaint seeking tariffs for alleged unfair pricing of imported
steel from China, India, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan. The
petitioners are frustrated because prices have been sluggish
despite strong demand. That has forced the companies to lay off
thousands of workers and idle plants around the country.
They blame imports, particularly from China. Slowing demand in
that country has led its steelmakers to export excess capacity,
flooding global markets.
The company has made a series of retrenchments as it attempts to
navigate the rough industry waters in the U.S. and pursues a
longer-term strategy of repositioning itself as a smaller, more
nimble company.
U.S. Steel said operations in Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania
will continue.
Shares of the company declined 1.2% in after-hours trading
Tuesday and, as of Tuesday's close, have fallen 67% in the past
year.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 06, 2015 18:45 ET (22:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
US Steel (NYSE:X)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
US Steel (NYSE:X)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024