Steel Products Prices North America
Weekly Raw Steel Production at 5 Month High
Written by Brett Linton
March 4, 2014
For the week ending March 1, 2014, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. steel industry produced 1,861,000 net tons (NT) of raw steel, the highest production level since the week of October 5, 2013. The latest production figure is a 1.6 percent increase over the previous week but a 0.7 percent decrease over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate is 77.4 percent, up from 76.3 percent last week but down from 78.3 percent last year. The capacity utilization rate is the highest since the week of November 16, 2013.
Estimated total raw steel produced for 2014 YTD is reported to be 15,711,000 NT, down 1.0 percent from the 15,873,000 NT produced through the same period in 2013. The average capacity utilization rate for 2014 YTD is estimated to be 76.5 percent, down from 77.3 percent for 2013 YTD. Note that there has been a change in production capability for 2014–comparisons between 2013 and 2014 capacity utilization rates are against different production levels, so the total tonnage figures are best suited for yearly comparisons.
Week-over-week changes per district are as follows: North East at 221,000 net tons, up 2,000 tons. Great Lakes at 668,000 NT, up 28,000 tons. Midwest at 246,000 NT, up 5,000 tons. South at 640,000 NT, down 7,000 tons. West at 86,000 NT, up 2,000 tons. Total production was 1,861,000 NT, up 30,000 tons.
SMU Note: You can view the interactive graphic below when you are logged into the website and reading the newsletter online. If you have not logged into the website in the past and need a new user name and password we can do that for you out of our office. Contact us at: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by calling 800-432-3475. If you need help navigating the website we would also be very happy to assist you.
{amchart id=”84″ Weekly Raw Steel Production from AISI}
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
CRU: Longs pricing trends diverge in North, South America
Most longs prices in the US were unchanged this month, except for rebar, which declined by $1.50/cwt ($30/short ton) m/m. While end-use demand is stable, inventories are well-stocked, keeping purchases limited. Domestic availability is sufficient to meet current demand, hindering the appetite for imported material. Meanwhile, prices for scrap remained under pressure in June, with […]
Nucor cuts plate prices by $125/ton, cites ongoing competition
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, and normalized plate with the opening of its August order book.
Nucor cuts HR price for fourth straight week
Nucor lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil by another $10 per short ton (st) for the first week of July. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday that its CSP base price for the week will be $670/st for all of its sheet mills with the exception of California Steel Industries (CSI).
Cliffs sets $720/ton HR price with opening of August books
Cleveland-Cliffs on Tuesday announced its monthly hot-rolled (HR) coil price of $720 per short ton (st) with the official opening of its August order book. The rate is down from last month’s price of $800/st.
CRU: Demand weakness continues to weigh on global sheet markets
Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]