After in-depth analyses, ArcelorMittal Poland has decided to temporarily idle blast furnace no. 3 at its unit in Dąbrowa Górnicza. The reason for this decision stems from the extremely difficult and constantly deteriorating market conditions.
ArcelorMittal Poland, the largest steel producer in Poland, has decided to temporarily idle blast furnace no. 3 at its unit in Dąbrowa Górnicza, from September 2025.
Explaining the decision, Wojciech Koszuta, CEO and chairman of the Management Board of ArcelorMittal Poland, said: “These are some of the toughest market conditions we have experienced, as a result of a combination of negative factors. These include very high energy prices, the fact that only European producers bear the costs of purchasing CO2 emission allowances under the EU ETS system, and insufficient trade safeguards which translate into very high levels of low-priced imports into Poland. In the last three months, we have recorded a significant drop in prices. All these factors have negatively impacted our margins, meaning that the operation of two blast furnaces in these conditions is economically unviable”.
According to the Polish Steel Association, imports already satisfy 80 percent of apparent steel consumption in Poland. For flat products, such as hot rolled coils, it is as much as 95 percent.
- For flat products, the volume of steel imported from Ukraine and Serbia is growing rapidly, but we are also seeing imports from countries including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan - commented Tomasz Plaskura, Member of the Management Board of ArcelorMittal Poland and CMO Central and Eastern Europe.
The company is already starting preparations for the safe stoppage of the installation, a process which will last several weeks. The company plans to idle the blast furnace from September and will be closely watching market developments in order to restart the installation as soon as market conditions permit.
- We will make every effort to find employment for all people working on blast furnace no. 3 during the temporary shutdown - declares Stanisław Ból, HR Director at ArcelorMittal Poland.
Two blast furnaces are currently operating in Dąbrowa Górnicza – no. 2 and no. 3. The last temporary idling of blast furnace no. 3 took place in October 2022 and was also dictated by market conditions, including high energy prices. The installation was restarted in January 2023.
