ArcelorMittal Poland, the country's largest steel producer, announced the temporary shutdown of blast furnace No. 3 at the plant in Dombrowa Górnicza. The company explains its decision by the sharp deterioration of market conditions, which make the operation of the furnace economically unjustified.
Wojciech Kossuth, CEO of ArcelorMittal Poland, said that the company operates in an environment that consists of a number of negative factors: ultra-high energy prices, lack of adequate protection of the European market and the costs associated with the purchase of CO2 emissions quotas under the EU ETS.
According to the Chamber of Mines and Metallurgy, imports already cover about 80% of domestic steel demand in Poland, and up to 95% in the flat rolled segment. At the same time, ArcelorMittal notes a significant increase in supplies from Ukraine, Serbia, as well as new flows from eastern countries, including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.
The company has already begun preparations for the safe shutdown of the unit, which will last several weeks and, according to the preliminary plan, will begin in September. ArcelorMittal promised to provide alternative work to all employees who serviced blast furnace No. 3.
It should be noted that the last stop of this furnace took place in October 2022 for similar reasons, and the restoration took place in January 2023. Blast furnace No. 2 will remain in operation at the enterprise.
According to Eurostat, the EU countries are the key suppliers of rental products to the Polish market. In particular, 1.12 million tons of rolled products were imported from Germany in January-May 2025 (-14.2% YoY), Italy – 272.39 thousand tons (-36.5% yoy), France – 96.19 thousand tons (-24.4% yoy). China sent 108.78 thousand tons to the Polish market during the period. tons of products (+1.5% YoY), Indonesia – 20.5 thousand tons (+30.8% yoy), Saudi Arabia – 0.2 thousand tons, Serbia – 73.43 thousand tons (-5.5% yoy), Ukraine – 457.39 thousand tons (+26.7% yoy).
