Steel Products Prices North America
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/media/k2/items/src/e58bba928c53c49bade88f914bdb65e5.jpg)
May Raw Steel Production at 9 Month High
Written by Brett Linton
June 28, 2016
The American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) recently reported final U.S. raw steel production estimates for the month of May 2016. The monthly estimates are different than the weekly estimates we report in our Tuesday issues; the AISI bases the monthly estimates on over 75 percent of the domestic mills reporting vs. only 50 percent for the weekly estimates.
Total raw steel production for the month of May was reported to be 7,693,546 net tons with 5,252,885 tons being produced by electric arc furnaces (EAF) and 2,440,661 tons produced by blast furnaces. May raw steel production was reported to be 416,985 tons or 5.7 percent higher than the previous month and 149,067 tons or 2.0 percent higher over the same month last year. May production levels are at the highest seen since July 2015 when total raw production was 7,751,341 tons.
Compared to the first five months of 2015, 2016 YTD production is up 0.3 percent to 36,630,915 tons. The table below shows that 5 of the 11 state-groups reported increased year over year production over the same period last year.
The capacity utilization rate for the month of May 2016 was reported to be 74.3 percent, up from 72.6 percent in April and up from 72.1 percent reported in May 2015. Note that there has been a reduction in available steel capacity from 2015 to 2016, making the capacity utilization rate higher in 2016 for the same amount of steel produced in 2015.
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.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/SMU_BL_headshot-V4-150x150.png)
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/CRU-Logo-2023-07-21-at-4.35.41-PM.png)
CRU: Longs pricing trends diverge in North, South America
Most longs prices in the US were unchanged this month, except for rebar, which declined by $1.50/cwt ($30/short ton) m/m. While end-use demand is stable, inventories are well-stocked, keeping purchases limited. Domestic availability is sufficient to meet current demand, hindering the appetite for imported material. Meanwhile, prices for scrap remained under pressure in June, with […]
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/Nucor.png)
Nucor cuts plate prices by $125/ton, cites ongoing competition
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, and normalized plate with the opening of its August order book.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/Nucor.png)
Nucor cuts HR price for fourth straight week
Nucor lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil by another $10 per short ton (st) for the first week of July. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday that its CSP base price for the week will be $670/st for all of its sheet mills with the exception of California Steel Industries (CSI).
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/Cliffs_logo2.2.png)
Cliffs sets $720/ton HR price with opening of August books
Cleveland-Cliffs on Tuesday announced its monthly hot-rolled (HR) coil price of $720 per short ton (st) with the official opening of its August order book. The rate is down from last month’s price of $800/st.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/CRU-Logo-2023-07-21-at-4.35.41-PM.png)
CRU: Demand weakness continues to weigh on global sheet markets
Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]