Corus Group, which last month announced plans to reduce its third-quarter crude steel production by 1 million metric tons, roughly 20 percent of the company’s output, has opted to extend the production cuts beyond December. Corus expects to produce about 30 percent less crude steel than planned during the two quarters to the end of March 2009.

To accomplish this task, Corus will temporarily idle one blast furnace at each of its Scunthorpe, IJmuiden and Port Talbot works and will also adjust output levels on its downstream production units to suit market conditions in their respective regions and end-use sectors.

"The current slowdown requires us to adapt our operations to the changing environment with maximum speed," said Corus CEO Philippe Varin. "We are adopting proactive and responsible measures in the areas of production and costs to optimize our results. Meanwhile, our strategy for long-term growth remains unchanged."