Weekly Raw Steel Production at 10 Month High

For the week ending May 31, 2014, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. steel industry produced 1,895,000 net tons (NT) of raw steel, 1.1 percent increase over the previous week and a 3.4 percent increase over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate is 78.8 percent, up from 78.0 percent last week and up from 76.5 percent last year. These levels are the highest we have seen since the week ending July 20, 2014, when production was at 1,904,000 tons and the capacity utilization rate was at 79.5 percent.

Estimated total raw steel produced for 2014 YTD is reported to be 39,540,000 tons, down 0.4 percent from the 39,691,000 tons produced through the same period in 2013. The average capacity utilization rate for 2014 YTD is estimated to be 76.3 percent, down from 76.8 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.