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    October Raw Steel Production at Four-Year High

    Written by Brett Linton


    Total raw steel production for the month of October was 8,330,505 net tons, the highest production level since August 2014 when 8,546,303 tons were produced. Broken down by production method, 5,724,209 tons were produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 2,606,296 tons were produced by blast furnaces. October production was 333,505 tons or 4.2 percent higher than September, and 828,212 tons or 11.0 percent higher than the same month last year, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute 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.

    Brett Linton

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    Mills seek more scrap after lower prices fail to attract tons

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    Nucor increases spot HR to $1,240/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 12, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,240 per short ton (st) this week, a $10/st increase from a week earlier. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,305/st, up $15/st from the prior week. Nucor is still offering lead times of three to five weeks, according to the letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 6, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,270/st, up $10/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 13.