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    Domestic Raw Steel Production at 5 Year Low

    Written by Brett Linton


    For the week ending April 4, 2015, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) estimated the U.S. steel industry produced 1,600,000 net tons of raw steel, a 1.7 percent decrease over the previous week and a 13.7 percent decrease over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate is 67.7 percent, down from 68.9 percent last week and down from 77.1 percent last year.

    The last time raw steel production was this low was in the week ending January 30, 2010 when it was 1,594,000 tons and the capacity utilization rate was 66.9 percent. The last time the capacity utilization rate was this low was for the week ending November 6, 2010 when it was 66.8 percent and production was at 1,615,000 tons.

    Brett Linton

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    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.