<article><p><i>Updated to include map of idled steel capacity in Europe</i></p><p class="lead">Europe's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, will idle blast furnace 2 at its Fos-sur-Mer site in France from December.</p><p>The 2mn t/yr unit will be idled in response to low demand and high import levels. There are two furnaces at the Fos plant, 1 and 2, both with the same capacity.</p><p>ArcelorMittal has announced a spate of idlings in recent months, citing energy costs, imports and low demand and prices as the main drivers.</p><p>In total, the company has announced the idling of around 9.4mn t of flat steel-oriented capacity in Europe, according to <i>Argus</i> calculations, including the 1.2mn t/yr blast furnace 3 at its Bremen site, which it later decided to keep running to produce offgases that can be used for energy generation.</p><p>Other producers, such as SSAB, have taken furnaces off line, but most are choosing to keep them operational at lower utilisation rates.</p><p>ArcelorMittal typically announces a price increase around the important Euroblech event in Germany, which this year took place in October. But it has not yet announced any official offer. The last offer it communicated, in September, was €810/t ($800/t) for November-delivery hot-rolled coil, shortly after it had announced an €850/t offer for the same month towards the end of August.</p><p class="bylines"><i>By Colin Richardson</i></p><p><div class="picture"><div><span class="pic_title">Steel capacity idled in Europe</span> <span class="units">'000t</span></div><img src="https://argus-public-assets-us.s3.amazonaws.com/2022/11/04/steelcutsmap04112022015331.jpg"></div></article>
