U.S. Steel Has No Urgent Plan to Restart Furnaces

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The US Steel Chief Executive David Burritt stated that the steelmaker has no immediate plans to restart additional idled blast furnaces. However, the company continues to remain flexible to turn them on, in response to rising customer demand. Furthermore, Burritt said that the company expects the V-shaped recovery to continue for a while.

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Burritt noted that the outgoing President has done a great job with the economy and that he expects president-elect Biden to carry on the good work. A strong steel industry would require continuation of the Section 232 steel tariffs and other protectionist measures. The new administration must focus on measures to boost cost-effective domestic manufacturing, thus making the country self-sufficient.

Commenting on Big River Steel acquisition, he noted that the company has still got three years to complete the transaction. Within the first year, it has prequalified 11 grades of steel from Big River Steel. Also, Big River continues to be the number one priority for the company, followed by endless caster at Mon Valley Works and the hot strip mill at Gary Works.

The company has enough cash to do what it wants to do through 2021, added Burritt.