ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steelmaker, has announced a significant maintenance program that will necessitate a temporary halt to production at its key French plants in Dunkirk and Fos-sur-Mer. The program, exceeding 270 million euros, will begin on April 15th, with the Dunkirk blast furnace, Europe’s largest, shutting down for 90 days.
The company cites necessary maintenance and delayed green investment implementation as the reasons for the production pause. This shutdown is expected to cause a significant impact on the European steel market. The maintenance cost for the Dunkirk plant is estimated at 254 million euros, while the Fos-sur-Mer plant will see 18.3 million euros invested.