US Steel has confirmed that it will restart its Gary Works blast furnace No 4 on Dec 8.
A spokesperson told Davis Index that the move would help US Steel satisfy the strong demand being encountered by the company in strategic end markets.
The plant was taken offline in April with an initial plan to restart the unit in about 50 days. However, the suspension was extended due to the drop in demand from the automotive industry that remained largely shut during the first phase of COVID-19 related lockdowns in the second quarter of the year.
The No. 4 blast furnace has a capacity of 1.4mn nt (1.2mn mt). US Steel is planning to invest $80mn at the Gary Works facility towards hot-strip mill upgrades in 2021.