The No.4 furnace at Gary has a rated annual capacity of 1.36 million st/year, according to data from the Association for Iron and Steel Technology.

The steelmaker has informed some customers that some orders for January production would have to be delayed until February.

The accelerated speed of change is not likely to stop.

While policy and decision-makers ostensibly take such measures to reduce the final offer of steel in the domestic market and support end consumers, in essence, such moves have had the opposite effect.

The inventories at 37 sampled mills also decreased by 15,200 tonnes on week to around 1 million tonnes as of November 25, according to the survey.

Japanese steel manufacturer JFE Steel has secured funds to invest in Chinese speciality steel bar company Baosteel Special Steel Shaoguan (BSSS).

"We're going to go into December probably busier than we've ever been," the first buyer said.

US automotive producers and other steel-intensive manufacturers are facing a supply shortage which could potentially lead to production shutdowns or reductions, according to numerous market sources.