AK Steel to restart Dearborn mill in July

Integrated steelmaker AK Steel is planning to restart the blast furnace at its flat-rolled steel mill in Dearborn, Michigan, in July to meet rising automotive demand.

The company told customers that it intends to restart its melt operations in the first half of July, according to market sources. The 2.2mn st/yr Dearborn mill provides steel primarily to the automotive industry.

Instead of making hot-rolled coils (HRC) on site, Dearborn's melt shop will produce slabs that will instead be sent to Cleveland-Cliff's Middletown Works north of Cincinnati for rolling.

AK Steel's parent company Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

North American automakers and parts suppliers have been working since the end of April to restart the automotive supply chain after many idled production in mid-March as Covid-19-related shutdowns rippled across the US economy. Auto production for 2020 is expected to be reduced by 26pc to 12.25mn vehicles, according to global automotive data company AutoForecast Solutions.

Cleveland-Cliffs also is speeding up its restart of its Tilden iron ore mine in Michigan in response to stronger than expected automotive demand.

The mine, which produced 7.7mn gross tons of iron ore pellets in 2019, was idled in mid-April as multiple US blast furnaces were shut due to Covid-19-related demand shocks.

By Rye Druzin