Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has declared a force majeure on raw materials supplied to its European steel mills.
Australian and US coal mining companies have confirmed receiving notice of force majeure from ArcelorMittal yesterday. No further details of dates or exact destinations were included in the letter.
ArcelorMittal was unable to comment specifically, but a company spokesperson said that in the developing crisis in Europe, "anything we say today might change tomorrow".
ArcelorMittal has announced cuts to production in Europe in response to the impact of the coronavirus. The steelmaker is slowing output across Europe, including stopping its Asturias blast furnace in Spain and blast furnace number two at Taranto in Italy, and has delayed the restart of its Krakow blast furnace in Poland.
Steel demand has fallen, caused largely by the halting of Europe's automotive sector, as Seat, Nissan, Volkswagen, Ford, Renault and many other carmakers have ceased production in recent days.
