Steel Products Prices North America

August Raw Steel Production & Capacity Utilization Rates

Written by Brett Linton

September 4, 2013

The American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) reported estimated raw steel production at 1,871,000 net tons for the week ending July 27, 2013. With outages and maintenance issues, production declined through August to a high of 1,888,000 net tons of raw steel in the week ending August 3, and dropping down to 1,856,000 net tons in the final week of the month, ending on August 31.

Capacity utilization declined from 78.8 percent at the beginning of August to 77.5 percent in the week ending August 31.

Year to date production at the beginning of August was at 57,252,000 net tons, down 4.7 percent from the same period in 2012. As of the week ending August 31, YTD production was at 64,709,000 net tons, down 4.3 from the same period in 2012. Average capacity utilization for the year so far is estimated at 77.2 percent down from 77.8 percent YTD 2012. (Note: last year’s comparison includes now defunct RG steel tonnage capacity in the mix, skewing results.)

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

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