Wednesday July 11, 2:10 pm Eastern Time
Cleveland-Cliffs to cut Q4 production
biz.yahoo.com
NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - Iron ore supplier Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF - news) said Wednesday it would further cut back production at its Northshore Mine due to weak demand from North American steelmakers.
The Cleveland-based company said the mine had been scheduled to produce 3.6 million tons of iron ore pellets this year, but would be reduced by about 500,000 tons. ``We continue to have considerable uncertainty regarding the pellet requirements of certain customers and production schedules at all of our mines for the remainder of 2001 are subject to change,'' said Chief Executive Officer John Brinzo. The steel industry has been hard hit in recent months by slowing demand from its largest customer, the auto industry, because of the economic slowdown.
Shares in the company fell 11 cents to $16.05 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company has a 52-week trading range of $27.25 to $13.75.
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Wednesday July 11, 1:26 pm Eastern Time
Cliffs Anticipates Further Curtailment of Production at Northshore Mine in Fourth Quarter
biz.yahoo.com
CLEVELAND, July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE: CLF - news) announced today that the continuing weak demand for iron ore pellets by North American steelmakers will likely necessitate a further curtailment of iron ore pellet production at its wholly-owned Northshore Mine in the fourth quarter. Previous to this announcement, the mine had been scheduled to produce 3.6 million tons this year. It now appears that about 500,000 additional tons will have to be taken out of the 2001 production schedule.
John S. Brinzo, Cliffs' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, ``The production curtailment under consideration reflects a deterioration in our sales outlook and reiterates our plan to significantly reduce inventories and improve cash flow. We continue to have considerable uncertainty regarding the pellet requirements of certain customers and production schedules at all of our mines for the remainder of 2001 are subject to change.''
Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest supplier of iron ore products to the North American steel industry and is developing a ferrous metallics business. Subsidiaries of the Company manage and hold equity interests in five iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada. Cliffs has a major iron ore reserve position in the United States and is a substantial iron ore merchant. References in this news release to ``Cliffs'' and ``Company'' include subsidiaries and affiliates as appropriate in the context. |
