[Ferro-Alloys.com] ArcelorMittal USA is facing a coronavirus outbreak at its steel mill in Burns Harbor, Indiana, causing production delays in an already steel-short US market, according to multiple market sources on Nov. 19.

The steelmaker has informed some customers that some orders for January production would have to be delayed until February because of the coronavirus outbreak, sources said. Additional February orders could potentially not be recognized, they said.

The extent of an outbreak or production disruptions at Burns Harbor could not be confirmed by an ArcelorMittal spokesman. The company did note it was seeing an increase in cases at some facilities, reflecting higher rates of community transmission in areas surrounding its operations.

"Since the beginning of the pandemic, our operations have continued to maintain strict adherence to CDC guidelines and protocols including, social distancing, wearing of face masks, enhanced sanitizing efforts and contact tracing as well as quarantining individuals as appropriate. The Company's adherence to CDC guidelines meets and in many cases exceeds locally mandated COVID response requirements," added the spokesman.

ArcelorMittal's Burns Harbor mill is 60 miles southeast of Chicago on Lake Michigan in Porter County. Cases in the county have jumped since late October, with 2,672 active cases as of Nov. 19, according to the country coronavirus updates website.

Any production issues at Burns Harbor would hit an already steel short market. The average mill lead time for hot-rolled coil was already extended beyond nine weeks and prices were up by almost 70% in three months as buyers have been unable to secure adequate steel supply to fill demand needs. The daily Platts TSI US HRC index was at an almost two-year high of $745.25/st on Nov. 19.

Source: S&P Platts Global

• [Editor:kangmingfei]