• Skip to main content

    Prices

    Slight Uptick in Weekly Raw Steel Production

    Written by Brett Linton


    For the week ending October 18th, 2014, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) estimated that the U.S. steel industry produced 1,822,000 net tons (NT) of raw steel, a 1.0 percent increase over the previous week but a 0.5 percent decrease over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate is 75.7 percent, up from 75.0 percent last week but down from 76.5 percent last year.

    Estimated total raw steel produced for 2014 YTD is reported to be 77,063,000 tons, up 0.5 percent from the 76,689,000 tons produced during the same period in 2013. The average capacity utilization rate for 2014 YTD is estimated to be 77.1 percent, up from 77.0 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.

    Brett Linton

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Latest in Prices

    Plate supply squeeze tightens as demand presses higher

    The domestic plate market is showing few signs of relief for steel buyers. Lead times are stretching well beyond seasonal norms, spot availability has all but evaporated, and mills are drawing hard lines on contract volumes heading into 2027 negotiations. And the supply squeeze will likely intensify in a market that some industry sources say is structurally undersupplied because of stringent US trade and tariff policies. Imports have been arriving in larger volumes, and the expectation is they will continue to tick higher into 2027. The big question is whether those foreign tons will arrive in volumes sufficient to provide the relief steel consumers want.