NWI's largest steelmaker has lost nearly $1.3 billion this year

The Luxembourg-based steelmaker, which has local operations in East Chicago, Gary, Burns Harbor, Riverdale, and New Carlisle, has seen shipments decline by 2.1 percent in the third quarter. Shipments are up 1.4 percent so far this year, but prices have been suffering because of an international import crisis that most blame on Chinese steelmaking overcapacity.

In ongoing negotiations with the United Steelworkers union, ArcelorMittal likely will point to the huge loss as a reason for wanting to cut back on health insurance benefits. The union says the steel business has always had its ups and downs, while the steelmaker says it needs to make its cost structure more competitive.

"Whilst we have delivered stable EBITDA compared with the second quarter, the already challenging operating conditions have further deteriorated during recent months, largely due to additional declines in steel prices caused by exceptionally low Chinese export prices," ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal said.

"Our focus is on ensuring we take all the necessary steps to strengthen our competitiveness in this difficult environment. Measures we have taken so far are yielding results; costs in our mining division have reduced by 17 percent so far in 2015 versus an initial target of 15 percent, and net debt is $1 billion lower than a year ago."

ArcelorMittal has openly talked about restructuring its North American operations so there's not so much overcapacity, which is now more than 30 percent, according to the American and Iron Steel Institute. The steelmaker says all its North American blast furnaces will continue to forge iron, but that it's looking to cut costs wherever it can.

"Whilst we expect market conditions to remain challenging in 2016, we have a number of important programs underway across the business which will structurally improve EBITDA in 2016 and we also expect a significant reduction in our cash requirements," Mittal said.

The multinational steelmaker is pursuing three trade cases in the United States, where imports have seized nearly a third of the market share. Most analysts blame the import crisis on China, which built more steel mills than it needed and now is selling steel at an average loss of $75 a ton abroad with the help of generous government subsidies.

"Whilst we are confident our actions are the right ones, there are also important issues for governments to address, specifically relating to unfair trade," Mittal said.

"We are encouraged by various examples of trade action being initiated in response to dumping, but the process needs to be faster in order to be fully effective."