Steel Products Prices North America

February Raw Steel Production Steady at 7.1 Million Tons
Written by Brett Linton
March 31, 2016
The American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) recently reported final raw steel production estimates for the month of February 2016. 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 February was reported to be 7,081,275 net tons with 4,592,622 tons being produced by electric arc furnaces (EAF) and 2,488,653 tons produced by blast furnaces. February raw steel production was reported to be 35,502 tons or 0.5 percent lower than the previous month but 262,757 tons or 3.9 percent higher over the same month last year.
Compared to the first two months of 2015, 2016 YTD production is down 4.2 percent to 14,198,052 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 February 2016 was reported to be 73.1 percent, up from 68.7 percent in January and better than the 72.1 percent reported in February 2015 (note: there has been a reduction in available capacity between 2015 and 2016. This pushes the capacity utilization rate higher in 2016 for the same amount of steel produced).
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
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

SMU price ranges: Flat-rolled balloon continues to leak
Sheet and plate prices were flat or lower again this week on continued concerns about demand and higher production rates among US mills.

HRC vs. busheling spread narrows in August
The price spread between prime scrap and hot-rolled coil (HRC) narrowed in August, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

SMU Price Ranges: Market drifts lower still
All five of SMU's steel sheet and plate price indices declined this week, falling to lows last seen in February.

Discontentment brews in plate market with flat, status-quo pricing
Sources in the carbon and alloy steel plate market said they are less discouraged by market uncertainty resulting from tariffs or foreign relations, but are instead, eager to see disruption to the flat pricing environment.

Nucor lowers HR coil spot price by $15/ton
Nucor has implemented a double-digit price decrease on spot hot-rolled (HR) coil for the second consecutive week.