ArcelorMittal NorthAm steel output drops in 1Q

Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal's North American production fell in the first quarter because of an outage at its Burns Harbor, Indiana, mill.

The company said a power outage at the integrated Burns Harbor mill near Chicago reduced first quarter production in its North American region by 100,000t. Production was also impacted to a lesser extent by delays related to restarting its blast furnace in Mexico after scheduled maintenance in the third quarter.

First quarter production in North America fell by 8pc to 5.39mn t from the first quarter of 2018, while shipments fell to 5.32mn t from 5.56mn t.

ArcelorMittal's average steel selling price in North America rose by 12pc to $874/t in the first quarter from $779/t in the same period of 2018.

Sales increased by 7pc to $5.1bn in the first quarter from $4.75bn in the same period of 2018.

The company expects apparent steel consumption to grow by up to 1pc in 2019, unchanged from their previous outlook, and driven by growth in machinery and non-residential construction.

The company's overall production in the first quarter rose to 24.1mn t from 23.3mn t in the first quarter of 2018, while shipments increased to 21.8mn t from 21.3mn t.