Ukrzaliznytsia responded to ArcelorMittal’s allegations and claimed it was being blackmailed
7 May 01:26
The ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih mining and metallurgical plant has announced the shutdown of some of its mining and steelmaking operations due to logistical disruptions. The company claims that over the past month, the plant has not received the necessary volumes of raw materials and has not had enough trains to ship iron ore concentrate. In response, Ukrzaliznytsia called the plant’s position “blackmail” and cited Russian attacks on railway infrastructure. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", citing the press services of the plant and Ukrzaliznytsia.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih announced the suspension of part of its production. According to the company, the reason was systemic failures in the provision of logistics services by JSC Ukrzaliznytsia.
What ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih stated
The company reported that over the past month, the plant has effectively not been receiving the necessary volumes of raw materials for continuous operation. As a result, inventories have fallen to a critical level.
This primarily concerns disruptions in the supply of fluxes—an important raw material for metallurgical production. The company states that the problem has already affected the stable operation of several key units.
The plant has already shut down one of its two blast furnaces, two sintering machines, the ore processing plant, and ore mining operations due to a lack of trains to transport the products.
In addition to raw material supply issues, the plant reported a disruption in the shipment of iron ore concentrate. As a result, the plant was forced to halt ore mining.
Mauro Longobardo, CEO of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, stated that, in the company’s view, the situation arose not due to objective circumstances but due to inadequate transportation planning.
“Ensuring stable supplies for one of the country’s largest industrial enterprises is not an overly difficult task, yet in practice, this is not happening. They simply fail to deliver this key component of iron casting production to us, without which we are unable to produce cast iron, which, as a result, has a serious impact on our entire value chain,” Longobardo said.
According to him, Ukrzaliznytsia also does not provide enough trains to ship the produced concentrate, forcing the mining department to halt operations.
What additional capacities could be shut down
The company warned: if supplies do not stabilize, the enterprise may shut down another portion of its production units.
At risk:
- the second blast furnace;
- other sintering machines;
- another ore processing plant.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih states that further shutdowns will have an even greater impact on production performance and the entire value chain.
The company noted that, against this backdrop, Ukrzaliznytsia continues to focus on raising tariffs, whereas the key priority should be ensuring the quality, timeliness, and reliability of transportation.
ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih expects Ukrzaliznytsia to take immediate action to stabilize supplies and restore predictability in logistics processes.
What Ukrzaliznytsia said
Following the plant’s statement, Ukrzaliznytsia emphasized that since the beginning of the year, Russia has significantly intensified attacks on railway infrastructure: depots, substations, locomotives, and railcars are under attack.
Ukrzaliznytsia also stated that Ukrainian steel companies have joined a pilot project to strengthen air defense systems to protect freight stations and trains, investing 175 million hryvnias in security measures.
At the same time, according to the carrier, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih refused to participate in this project.
Ukrzaliznytsia noted that its inquiries to the company went unanswered, and company representatives stated that they handle their own security matters independently.
Ukrzaliznytsia also stated that the plant had proposed using its own rolling stock to transport its cargo. According to the carrier, it supported this proposal, drafted a contract, and sent it to the company, but received no response.
