ASHLAND AK Steel CEO Roger Newport and other executives met privately Thursday with the Ashland Alliance, local government officials and local union leaders to discuss the state of the Ashland Works mill during a routine quarterly visit.

The executives tour all of AK Steel’s locations, including the Ashland mill, on a regular basis to discuss operations with local management and staff.

Newport and company didn’t rule out reigniting the idled blast furnace, but said economic conditions have not improved to the point where they can make a decision, according to multiple sources at the meeting.

The layoff status imposed on workers last December will remain in place until a decision is reached.

“It’s difficult because there’s no end in sight, and their decision hinges on stability in the market,” said Mike Howard, president of the United Steelworkers Local 1865 union. “But he (Newport) said they’re not giving up on Ashland.”

Howard said the union will remain optimistic as long as AK continues to “pour millions of dollars into keeping it in idle state, and keeping the stoves hot.”

The idling of the blast furnace left 633 workers laid off, damaged the local economy and decreased the budgets of local governments. While some laid-off workers have sought employment elsewhere, most remain jobless in the area.

The laid-off workers have lost most of their benefits, such as sub-pay and insurance over the course of the year.

About 200 workers have enrolled in college courses at Ashland Community and Technical College through the Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA program.

Howard, local union Chairman Clint Poplin, State Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, state Reps. Jill York, R-Grayson and Kevin Sinnette, D-Ashland, Mayor Chuck Charles and Mayor-elect Steve Gilmore were part of the Ashland area delegation at the meeting.

“It left me with the impression that they are fighting to stay viable in the global market,” said Webb.

Charles said it was “a good conversation” and the executives “realize how tough this is on our community and the people who work here.”

“They have not ruled out opening it (the blast furnace) back up. At this time, they just don’t know,” he said.

If AK Steel does decide to resume operations at the blast furnace, it would receive significant government aid.

An incentive bill championed by state officials from the northeastern Kentucky region that passed last spring eases the cost of starting up an idled blast furnace by making corporations eligible for funding through the Kentucky Industrial Revitalization Act program, among other incentives.

In a statement to The Daily Independent, AK Steel representatives said economic conditions have “not sufficiently improved to allow us to restart the blast furnace at this time,” after “the dramatic increase in imported carbon steel and the associated declines in AK Steel’s order intake rates and selling prices” that contributed to the blast furnace closure last year. During the meeting on Thursday, executives cited rising costs of raw materials from foreign countries as continuous damage to the company, Howard said.

Steel dumping, which is considered oversupplying the U.S. market with cheaper steel than U.S. manufacturers can produce, was one of the chief concerns voiced by AK in its decision to idle the blast furnace.

In May, the International Trade Administration (ITA) levied anti-steel dumping tariffs on imports from some Asian countries including China. The U.S. also slapped tariffs of over 500 percent on Chinese cold-rolled steel. China has called the tariffs “unfair,” though the tariffs haven’t stopped foreign nations from continuing the trade practice.

AK Steel reported gains in its third quarter findings released in October, including a net income of $50.9 million, or $0.21 per diluted share of common stock, for the third quarter of 2016, compared to net income of $6.7 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2015.

The Ashland mill currently employs 198 workers.

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aadkins@dailyindependent.com