RG Steel sent a letter to its customers today saying that steelmaking operations at Sparrows Point will remain idle until the company resolves “issues associated with this unexpected outage” – a liquidity crisis occasioned by operating losses and a shortage of raw materials caused by unpaid bills.

The letter was published tonight by the industry newsletter Steel Market Update.

As previously reported, finishing operations will run off inventory to supply current customer orders, while the L blast furnace and other steel facilities will remain closed, idling as many as 700 employees at the Baltimore County plant.

Warren Stays Open

According to the letter, operations at RG Steel’s Warren (Ohio) facility will continue to run as scheduled. (Warren operates a blast furnace and finishing mills, while the company’s Wheeling-Pittsburgh unit has been largely shut for more than two years.)

The letter, signed by Jerry Nelson, general manager of commercial sales, offers little guidance as to the company’s plans for Sparrows Point other than it hopes to resume normal operations.

Last week, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley called on the CEO of General Electric to intervene with subsidiary GE Capital to free up funds in a revolving credit facility for RG Steel.