UK-based Liberty Steel has suspended offers for plate from its Dalzell mill in Scotland, market participants said today.
The mill has been grappling with low margins, while the wider Liberty group has also been struggling, mothballing some mills and looking to sell others.
"[Dalzell] is unable to purchase slabs at a competitive enough rate to allow them to continue operations," one source said.
A source close to the company said the mill continues to produce and fulfil its order commitments.
But several participants said it had suspended offers, suggesting it may not be taking new orders for fresh rollings. A Liberty Steel spokesperson declined to comment.
Sluggish demand and high input costs have been weighing on plate re-rollers' profit margins across the European mainland as some Italian and northern European mills are reportedly producing around break-even levels.
Competitive imports from Asia have also played a role in driving European offers down.
Into the UK, Korean S275 plate was heard at £620-630/t ($785-798/t) cfr this week.
"[These are] frightening prices. Not surprised that Liberty cannot compete at these levels," one participant commented.
Liberty recently said it would enter creditor protection in the Czech Republic, and announced it would close the coke ovens at its Hungarian operation. It said in May it would look to sell or recapitalise its EU rolling lines.
