"This will certainly free up more capacity on the blast furnace side. Steel buyers are desperate for more tons, with some buyers telling us they are on allocation and most buyers not getting the quantity of tons they need from the mills," Samuel McKinney, metals analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, told Fastmarkets on Friday September 4.
"We expect US Steel will be responsible with the furnace ramp and doubt this has an immediate downward impact on pricing given how behind the mills currently are. Rather, it may provide a small bit of supply relief for a buying spectrum that is begging for more tons," McKinney said.
The project required more than one million hours of labor and employed a peak workforce of approximately 1,000 contractors per day, according to the company.
"The return of Blast Furnace #14 is a great example of disciplined execution at US Steel and is a testament to the skill, dedication and unwavering focus on safety demonstrated by our employees, contractors and partners," US Steel president and chief executive officer David Burritt said.
The company said the reline was completed with a zero days-away injury rate.
The outage also allowed crews to perform maintenance on supporting infrastructure, including furnace gas, cooling water, hoisting and stove systems, with the goal of improving reliability and extending the furnace's operating life.
Blast Furnace #14 (BF #14) is capable of producing more than two million short tons of hot metal annually and is a key component of the company's integrated steelmaking operations.
US Steel said the furnace uses iron ore pellets supplied by the company's Minnesota Ore Operations, linking domestic raw material production with finished steel output.
The restart represents a significant milestone for Gary Works, one of North America's largest integrated steelmaking facilities.
US Steel said the investment supports the long-term competitiveness of the operation, where ongoing hot-strip mill and steel shop upgrades are aimed at improving capabilities, environmental performance and operational reliability.
The company did not provide details on ramp-up rates or the furnace's expected production schedule following the restart.
BF #14 produces hot metal used in the manufacture of high-strength steel. The resulting steel is later processed through Gary Works' downstream steelmaking and rolling operations, including the hot-strip mill that produces hot-rolled coil (HRC).
The planned relining of Gary Works BF #14 from May to August this year was a factor in the restart of US Steel's Blast Furnace B at Granite City, Illinois in March.
The start-up of BF #14 comes at a time when fall and winter maintenance outages are expected to temporarily reduce HRC domestic output by one million short tons.
"The planned outages will certainly not help availability, but US Steel Gary [Works] coming back online may offer some assistance," a Midwest distributor said.
(This report has been updated to include new information in the 3rd and 4th paragraphs.)
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