On Jan. 2, U.S. Steel said it was cutting output at its Clairton coke works in Pennsylvania because it couldn’t find enough metallurgical coal. That coke is used by U.S. Steel and also sold to outside customers like Weirton. U.S. Steel is the primary source for Weirton’s 1.2 million tons/year of coke supply.

The coal-supply shortfall is because the 3.5-million-ton/year Pinnacle mine in West Virginia, formerly owned by U.S. Steel, has been shut since Labor Day weekend due to ventilation problems. And there is no firm schedule for getting Pinnacle, a major supplier of Pocahontas-seam coal to U.S. Steel, operating again. Apparently there isn’t enough similar-quality coal around right now to fill U.S. Steel’s needs.