Steel Products Prices North America

September Raw Steel Production Down 417K Tons Over October

Written by Brett Linton

November 3, 2015

The American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) recently reported final raw steel production estimates for the month of September 2015. The monthly estimates are different than the weekly estimates we report in our Tuesday issues; the AISI bases the monthly estimates on 75 percent of the domestic mills reporting vs. only 50 percent for the weekly estimates.

Total raw steel production for the month of September was reported to be 7,227,878 net tons with 4,594,357 tons being produced by electric arc furnaces (EAF) and 2,633,521 tons produced by blast furnaces. September raw steel production was reported to be 417,456 tons or 5.5 percent lower than the previous month and down 821,076 tons or 10.2 percent from the same month last year.

Compared to the first nine months of 2014, 2015 YTD production is down 8.8 percent to 66,693,985 tons. The table below shows that all 11 state-groups in the yearly comparison were reported as down.

The capacity utilization rate for the month of September 2015 was reported to be 70.5 percent, down from 72.2 percent in August and down from 78.1 percent in September 2014.

SMU Note: An interactive graphic of our raw steel production history can be seen in the Analysis section of our website here. If you need help logging into the website or navigating through it, please contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

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