ArcelorMittal to idle Krakow blast furnace

International steelmaker ArcelorMittal will temporarily shut its blast furnace in Krakow, Poland, on 23 November until steel demand recovers.

The unit makes up approximately one-third of the firm's steel production capacity in Poland and will be off line for an unspecified period.

The company initially planned to idle the unit in September, but in July decided to postpone the shutdown.

ArcelorMittal's three blast furnaces in Poland — the other two are in Dabrowa Gornicza — currently produce below their technologically allowed capacity. Falling steel demand in Europe — cosumption is expected to decline by 3.1pc on the year in 2019 — is forcing the firm to shut down the Krakow plant, it said.

The Krakow furnace has dealt with similar issues in the past, temporarily shutting from August 2010 to March 2011, ArcelorMittal said, adding that it would seek to restart production as soon as steel demand improves.

ArcelorMittal produced 5.2mn t of crude steel in Poland last year, more than half of country's overall output.

In January-September this year, Poland's steel output fell by more than 9pc on the year to approximately 7mn t. In September, output slumped by more than a quarter on the year to 618,000t, according to Polish statistics agency GUS.