ArcelorMittal de España will halt steel production at its Gijón plant in Spain for one week in response to current demand levels, a company spokesperson told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, on Sept. 29.
The halt began Sept. 28 and will continue through Oct. 3, citing the steel wire order book, the spokesperson said. It is one of several short production halts — typically lasting about a week — that the plant has undertaken in 2026, they added.
The 1.1 million metric ton/year site had one of its two blast furnaces, Furnace B, offline for about four months during the first half of the year to address a production issue that emerged following maintenance in 2025.
ArcelorMittal confirmed Sept. 29 that it expects to bring a new 1.1 million mt/year electric arc furnace online at Gijón in 2026. The furnace will supply two long products rolling mills and use direct-reduced iron, hot-briquetted iron and scrap as feedstocks.
Spain’s steel industry association Unesid, which represents ArcelorMittal and the country’s other leading steel producers, said Sept. 22 that the industry was facing increasing energy-cost pressures through the remainder of the year.
From September through December, the industry faces “excessive costs” of €452 million ($513 million), following €206 million in accumulated costs from January through August, Unesid said. The costs have been exacerbated by a €20/megawatt-hour impact from grid-balancing charges.
“Cost pressures are already impacting business activity,” the association said. “Companies are halting production during peak electricity-price hours — a practice that could become more widespread if current price levels persist.”
Unesid called for immediate intervention, including increasing the 2026 allocation for compensation for indirect CO2 costs to the €1-billion maximum permitted under European regulations. The measure would help “sustain industrial activity in 2026 and provide certainty on energy conditions for 2027,” it said.
Platts assessed imported hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe at €585/mt CIF Antwerp, and in Southern Europe at €580/mt CIF, both steady day over day.
Author: Euan Sadden, Gianluca Baratti
