January Raw Steel Production at Highest Level Since August

Total raw steel production for the month of January was 7,595,623 net tons, with 5,129,878 tons produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 2,465,745 tons produced by blast furnaces. This is the highest monthly production figure seen since August 2017 when 7,824,820 tons were produced. January raw steel production was 174,474 tons or 2.4 percent higher than the previous month, but 93,102 tons or 1.2 percent lower 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, seven of the 11 state groups reported a decrease in month-over-month production, and a different seven of the 11 state groups reported a decrease in production compared to the same month last year.