Steel Products Prices North America

August Raw Steel Production at 2.5-Year High

Written by Brett Linton

October 3, 2017

Total raw steel production for the month of August was 7,824,820 net tons, with 5,344,663 tons produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 2,480,157 tons produced by blast furnaces. This is the highest monthly production figure seen since January 2015 when 8,002,074 tons were produced. August raw steel production was 150,877 tons or 2.0 percent lower than the previous month, and 496,286 tons or 6.8 percent higher than the same month last year, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) in Washington. AISI’s monthly estimates are different than the weekly estimates we report; the monthly estimates are based on over 75 percent of the domestic mills reporting versus only 50 percent reporting for the weekly estimates.

As seen in the table below, eight of the 11 state groups reported an increase in month-over-month production.

Compared to the first eight months of 2016, 2017 year-to-date production increased 2.5 percent to 60,337,338 tons. The table below shows that eight of the 11 state groups reported an increase in annual production compared to the same period last year.

The mill capacity utilization rate for August 2017 was 75.8 percent, up from 74.3 percent in July, and up from 70.8 percent one year ago. The yearly capacity utilization rate is 74.6 percent, up from 74.4 percent the month before, and up from 72.2 percent in August 2016.

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 or navigating the website, 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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