Dented but not deterred, the parent company of Coatesville’s steel mill reported a nearly $1 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2014 — though the full-year deficit improved 56 percent from the $2.5 billion loss ArcelorMittal was bracing for.
The turnaround is thanks to surging steel shipments in response to the unprecedented drop in oil prices, and the forecast expects that trend to continue as more drivers seek to take advantage of low gas prices and upgrade their vehicles.
“Operating conditions remain tough [but] we expect steel markets to continue to improve, particularly for high value-added products such as automotive,” CEO Lakshmi Mittal said in a report by The Wall Street Journal. “… Low energy pricing will help U.S. consumers spend more on cars and houses.”
Falling iron ore prices are a result of slowing economic development in China and the country’s resulting shift to exporting steel.
Read much more analysis of ArcelorMittal’s fourth quarter and year-end financial results in The Wall Street Journal here.
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Top image courtesy of Chester County Planning Commission.
