7/31/2025
ARCELORMITTAL TO HALVE CRUDE STEEL OUTPUT IN POLAND
ArcelorMittal will effectively halve the amount of crude steel it produces at its Dabrowa Gornicza steelworks in Poland when it idles one of the plant's two blast furnaces in September, due to “extremely difficult” market conditions, the company said .
The two furnaces – BF2 an BF3 – both have the capacity to produce 2.4 million tonnes per year of crude steel,
The company will shut down BF3 in September for an unspecified period of time but said it “will be closely watching market developments” to ensure a timely restart “as soon as market conditions permit."
The company has already begun preparations for the safe stoppage of BF3 – a process will last several weeks – but said that BF2 will continue to operate as normal.
The combination of negative factors, is:
1) very high energy prices (,
2) the fact that only European producers bear the costs of purchasing CO2 emission allowances under the EU (emissions trading system)
3) insufficient trade safeguards
4) consequent very high levels of low-priced imports coming into Poland.
5) a significant drop in sales prices
All these factors have negatively impacted our margins, making the operation of two blast furnaces in these conditions economically unviable, the company said.
Imports accounts for 80% percent of apparent steel consumption in Poland and for flat products, such as hot rolled coil it is as much as 95%, according tot the Polish Steel Association. And, earlier this year, market participants said there had been a sharp increase in HRC imports to the EU, notably from Indonesia.
Statistics from Global Trade Tracker (GTT) show that, in January-April 2025, Indonesia exported 213,152 tonnes of HRC to the EU, compared with just 64,213 tonnes over the same period in 2024, HRC deliveries to the EU from Indonesia amounted to 250,908 tonnes for the whole of 2024.
In January-April 2025, HRC deliveries form Turkey to the EU amounted to 494,907 tonnes, according to GTT, up by 31% from 376,216 tonnes over the same period in 2024.
HRC pricesi in Europe fell from early May until mid July, before some suppliers starting to push for higher offers on July 24.