ArcelorMittal publishes first Annual 2015 United States Integrated Report

By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

June 20, 2016 02:46:03 AM

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Leading steelmaker-ArcelorMittal has published its first Annual 2015 United States Integrated Report. The report details the corporate responsibility (CR) and sustainability outcomes in the United States and a review of opportunities and challenges facing the USA business and steel industry. The company, for the first time, has combined the above information in a single publication. Earlier, the company used to publish them as separate documents.

According to the report, imports of steel products surged into the United States during 2015. Carbon flat roll imports increased by 70 percent year-over-year in 2014, and import market share grew from an average of 13 percent from 2007-2013 to 21 percent in 2014. Despite weak demand conditions in early 2015, imports continued to arrive at a strong pace, causing import share to swell to 25 percent in Q1 2015. Incidentally, flat carbon products account for 93 percent of ArcelorMittal’s US business.

In the U.S., steel prices eroded throughout the year in 2015, falling more than 40 percent in December compared to early January. Pricing improved slightly at the end of December, but ended the year 36 percent lower than at the same time in December 2014. In 2016, the steel industry continues to operate in a challenging environment related to both pricing and the threat of imports.

In 2015, the company’s U.S. operations employed approximately 20,000 individuals with a direct economic contribution of $2.3 billion through wages and benefits, excluding the expenses related to retirement funding. ArcelorMittal contributed $8.3 million in total community investment, including cash grants, employee donations and company matching gifts. Approximately half was in support of education, particularly science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

During the whole year 2015, flat-rolled products accounted for 69% of total domestic steel industry shipments, followed by long (27%), pipe and tube (3%), and semi-finished products (1%). Flat rolled products’ share of domestic shipments gained 2% over the previous year, while pipe and tube products’ share declined by 2%. The three largest buying markets for domestic steel shipments were service centers/distribution (27%), construction (18%), and automotive (17%).

The combined lost time injuries (LTI) rate for employees and contractors improved 15 percent over 2014 (1.33 in 2015 vs. 1.57 in 2014). The company’s global LTI rate for own employees and contractors stood at 0.81 per million worker hours during the year. The company offered Health Week events throughout the US facilities. A total of 3,590 employees participated in a free biometric screening program. As part of initiatives to reinforce its commitment to safety, the safety leaders and union representatives from all US facilities had conducted quarterly review meetings during 2015. According to the company, 69% of the employees are already covered by a collective bargaining program. In the midst of all these achievements, the company reported one employee and one contractor death in the US during the year.

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading steel and mining company. It has the largest global production capacity of any steel company in the world. In the United States, ArcelorMittal accounts for more than 20 percent of the nation’s steelmaking capacity, operating 27 facilities in 13 of the United States. Our non-industrial presence extends to 14 states and the District of Columbia. With approximately 20,000 employees in the United States, ArcelorMittal produced more than 15 million tons of raw steel in 2015 and shipped a broad range of steel products to the automotive, construction, pipe and tube, appliance, container, energy and machinery markets.