U.S. Steel temporarily idled East Chicago Tin last year, but most of the workers have been recalled. Provided photo
The East Chicago Tin Mill is back to close to full employment after laying off 369 workers last year during one of the worst import crises the U.S. steel industry has ever faced.
Mark Tade, U.S. Steel Corp. employee relations director, said most of the laid-off workers have since been recalled as market conditions have steadily improved.
In January 2015, Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel announced it would lay off 1,300 employees companywide after imports snatched away market share and falling oil prices gutted its once-thriving tubular steel business. U.S. Steel decided to temporarily idle East Chicago Tin, a finishing plant that makes tin-plated metal for canned foods such as soup, chili and vegetables.
U.S. Steel started idling the plant near East Chicago’s Marktown neighborhood, which it acquired from LTV in 2001, in mid-March of last year. Hundreds of workers were laid off at the plant, which is part of U.S. Steel’s Gary Works operations.
The steel company has about 45 percent of the domestic market for tin-plated steel, but that’s only about 2.2 percent of the overall steel market, and the business has been declining for years as consumers started to favor fresh foods without so many preservatives and food companies shifted to alternative forms of packaging, such as microwavable soup containers.
U.S. Steel idled 25 percent of its salaried workforce.
U.S. Steel never completely closed the tin mill, where operations were drastically scaled back, but it is now mostly up and running again as the steel business gets stronger. Steel prices reached a nadir of around $350 a ton last year, but have since climbed to about $650 a ton.
Imports are down by nearly a third as a result of new tariffs, so it’s regaining its market share.
© Copyright 2024, nwitimes.com, Munster, IN