The economic slowdown has prompted U.S. Steel Corp. to put off construction of a $450 million plant in Alabama.
The plant in Sumpter County was expected to create about 235 jobs and would produce a material that could be used as an alternative to coke in the steelmaking processs.
"Our capital program gives us the flexibility to adjust to reflect market conditions, and we have adjusted the timing of this project," Armstrong said. "It's on hold."
He said there is no specified time when U.S. Steel will start work on the project.
Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel last month celebrated the start of a $1.2 billion project to construct two environmentally advanced coke batteries at its Clairton Works -- a investment it said will ensure the long-term viability of steelmaking in the Mon Valley and 3,000 jobs.
That project is separate and unaffected by the Alabama plant announcement, Armstrong said.
The company announced plans for the Alabama plant in April.
Construction on the initial 450,000-square-foot facility was supposed to start this year on a 360-acre site near the town of Epes.
U.S. Steel initially was to invest $150 million and create 75 jobs at the start.
It would utilize state-of-the-art technology supplied by Carbonyx, Inc. that processes coal into Cokonyx, a carbon alloy material.
The plant would produce 250,000 tons of the material annually and use it in the company's U.S. Steel's Fairfield Works in Alabama.
The technology is said to result in significant reduction in emissions and energy consumption when compared to a traditional coke making facility or other commercial processes.
Additionally, the gases created during the process would be utilized in a proposed cogeneration facility.
A number of other steelmakers have announced plans to cut back some operations and lay off personnel as the result of weakening economic conditions.
On Oct. 31, Allegheny Technologies Inc. said it would lay off several hundred workers at three area plants and a research center because of falling demand for stainless steel from automotive, housing and appliance producers. The layoffs at its ATI's Allegheny Ludlum Steel plants are to remain in effect on a week-to-week basis as the company adjusts production to meet demand, spokesman Daniel Greenfield said.
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