US Steel shut down its last blast furnace in Granite City in 2023, and subsequently decided to close the steel processing unit at the facility in September 2024. However, political pressure from the White House and debates over the employment impact in the region prompted the company to reconsider its decision. Following the strikes carried out by the United Auto Workers (UAW), the company took a further step by reopening the blast furnace it had idled.
In its statement, US Steel emphasized that the decision to resume production was driven entirely by market dynamics. The company announced on Thursday that the restart of the blast furnace was due to a “recovery in customer demand.”
US Steel CEO David Burritt stated that the decision was made after a careful evaluation process, saying:
“After closely analyzing customer demand for months, we decided to restart the blast furnace. The steel industry remains competitive and highly cyclical, but we believe we are in a position to meet 2026 demand safely and profitably.”
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