AK Steel's availability in the steel sheet spot market will be limited in the near term as a result of a weekend fire at the company's Middletown Works in southwest Ohio, the company said Monday.
A ladle at the caster at the Middletown Works facility malfunctioned early Saturday, spilling molten steel, according to a statement. The company estimates it will take eight to 10 days before operations at the facility will recommence.
During that time, AK will utilize production from the melt shops at its Dearborn Works and Butler Works facilities to support customers' needs, it said. AK Steel Middletown Works' annual melt capacity is roughly 2 million-2.5 million.
"We do not currently expect any material impact on shipments to our contract customers, including our automotive customers, however, we anticipate that the outage will reduce our sales to the commodity spot market," the company said.
AK sent a lead-time update to customers Monday morning asking them to inquire for current lead times on any new spot orders. The previous update sent to customers, dated January 15, put AK's lead times at February 19 for hot-rolled coil and March 5 for cold-rolled coil.
