ArcelorMittal resolves Fos sur Mer plant issues

The world's largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, has resolved problems at its Fos-sur-Mer plant in southern France.

Problems at the plant have forced the company to delay some of its coil deliveries from the late fourth quarter to January, although the company did not confirm this.

ArcelorMittal is not yet offering pricing for the first quarter, just pushing back allocations originally intended for December. The company has been offering at €600/t ($698/t) ex-works for the fourth quarter, although this is not considered to be achievable.

The company is booked out for the fourth quarter, according to market participants, which is prompting its bullish pricing policy.

The Fos-sur-Mer plant, which sells to automotive clients as well as to pipeline manufacturers and electrical steel users, has been running intermittently this year owing to a number of planned and unplanned stoppages. But after the latest shutdown, the issues facing the plant — viewed as significant in recent months — have been resolved.

The company was also late in restarting its Dunkirk plant in France after the summer. The 7mn t/yr site serves the automotive, construction, appliances and packaging markets.