Two more Italian steel mills shut down, further closures possible, sources say

Two more steel producers in Italy have stopped operations following the recent nationwide extension of the country's coronavirus-related quarantine area, and more stoppages were expected, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday March 12.

On March 11, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree tightening the Italian lockdown from the conditions set out in a previous decree on March 9. While there were no explicit measures to restrict or stop steel production, some mills made the decision to shut down their facilities anyway.
The decree was intended to restrict the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus infection and will be in force from March 12 until March 25, 2020.
Italian beams producer Duferdofin-Nucor stopped "activities at the plant in San Zeno Naviglio [in Brescia] due to the spread of coronavirus in the area, starting from [March 12] at 2pm [Italian time]," the company said. "This is a preventive measure adopted in order to further protect the safety of colleagues and workers in all areas and offices."
The mill has capacity for 800,000 tonnes per year of crude steel.

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