Europe countries ‘ situation effected by COVID-19 Part two
Since April 7th, ArcelorMittal has begun preparations for the temporary closure of blast furnace A at its Gijon plant in Asturias. The plant has two blast furnaces with a total annual output of 4.2 million tons of crude steel. According to S & P Global Platts Energy Information, the annual crude steel production capacity of furnace A is about 2.7 million tons per year.
On the morning of March 31, Basque (Sestao) temporarily shut down the electric arc furnace to balance supply and demand. Sestao’s crude steel design capacity is about 1.4 million tons/year, but since September last year, the annual output has been 300,000 tons/year for the automotive industry.
Last week AM stopped production of its 250,000-ton / year steel rolling mill in Lesaka, which produces organic coated coils for the automotive sector. It also closed its Sagunto rolling mill, and its annual production capacity of galvanized products is about 600,000 tons, accounting for 70% of the automotive industry.
AM’s Olaberria-Bergara production line for the automotive and construction industries is running.
the other europe countries’ situation analysis effected by COVID-19
United Kingdom
Steel producers are still working, but due to restrictions imposed by the government, production has been adjusted to reduce demand. The total output is usually 7.3 million tons/year. Major producers Tata Steel (Talbert Port has a production capacity of 3.5 million tons/year), British Steel (2.5 million tons/year) and Free Group reported that production in product areas related to the automotive industry has been reduced.
Tata Steel said: “We will continue to operate all four blast furnaces at our two steelmaking centers-IJmuiden in the Netherlands and Port Talbot in Wales. However, due to the sudden drop in steel production, liquid Steel production will decrease. Demand. ”
British Steel continues to operate two blast furnaces with an annual output of approximately 2.5 million tons.
Freedom Group continues to produce approximately 1.2 million shares of crude steel through two furnaces in Rotherham, England. Once the customer’s plan is completed and the plant and equipment are shut down, Liberty will only suspend operations at Liberty Pressing Solutions, Liberty TubeComponents and Liberty Aluminium Technologies related to the automotive industry, and restart effectively when needed.
Belgium: Liberty Liege-Dudelange closed the three production bases of Flemalle, Tiller, and Dudelange on March 21, and stated that it will continue to deliver finished products to customers.
Austria: Voestalpine, which has an annual capacity of 5 million tons, has idled a blast furnace in Linz and announced short-term work.
Poland: In view of the current market uncertainty, Poland ArcelorMittal Poland has postponed the restart of its Krakow blast furnace (expected to resume production in the second half of March).
