PITTSBURGH — United States Steel Corp., the largest U.S.-based steel maker, said Tuesday it is temporarily idling some operations in Canada due to difficult market conditions, affecting about 1,500 workers.

U.S. Steel and other steel producers have faced an industrywide slump in demand as the global economic slowdown and credit crisis have undermined key customers in the automotive, construction and industrial equipment markets. Steel prices plunged from record highs last year, though they have recovered modestly.

The Pittsburgh-based company said finishing and coking operations at its Hamilton Works in Hamilton, Ontario, and steel making and finishing operations at its Lake Erie Works near Nanticoke, Ontario, will be suspended in the coming weeks.

Coking operations at Lake Erie Works will continue, however. Coke is a material used in steel production.

About 1,500 employees will be temporarily laid off as a result of the temporary shutdown, according to U.S. Steel. It said company representatives had notified Canadian officials and union representatives earlier in the day.

A U.S. Steel spokeswoman, Erin DiPietro, said she could not comment on the expected duration of the shutdown.

"The difficult decision to continue to temporarily consolidate our production, we believe, is a necessary response to current market conditions," U.S. Steel's chairman and chief executive, John Surma, said in a statement.

The Canadian plants produce flat-rolled or sheet steel, as well as bars used in auto steering components and axles.