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    Weekly Raw Steel Production Begins Year with Strong Start

    Written by Brett Linton


    For the week ending January 2, 2015, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) estimated that the U.S. steel industry produced 1,857,000 net tons (NT) of raw steel, a 6.4 percent increase over the previous week and a 3.9 percent increase over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate is 77.2 percent, up from 72.6 percent last week and up from 74.5 percent last year.

    Week-over-week changes per district are as follows: Northeast at 230,000 tons, down 8,000 tons. Great Lakes at 660,000 tons, up 6,000 tons. Midwest at 234,000 tons, up 12,000 tons. South at 663,000 tons, up 107,000 tons. West at 70,000 tons, down 6,000 tons. Total production was 1,857,000 tons, up 111,000 tons.

    Brett Linton

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    Mills seek more scrap after lower prices fail to attract tons

    Several mills that bought October scrap early last week are still asking for additional supplies, scrap market participants said. The reason: the mills' initial prices did not attract enough of the raw material, they said. A trading source based in northern Ohio said three mills have contacted his firm seeking offers for additional tons. He said the mills asked for offers even if prices were higher than their original buys last week.

    Nucor increases spot HR to $1,240/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 12, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,240 per short ton (st) this week, a $10/st increase from a week earlier. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,305/st, up $15/st from the prior week. Nucor is still offering lead times of three to five weeks, according to the letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 6, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,270/st, up $10/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 13.