Steel Products Prices North America
Steel Production Up 6.7 Percent in Q1
Written by Tim Triplett
March 26, 2019
The U.S. steel industry produced approximately 24 million tons of steel in the first quarter of 2019, a 6.7 percent increase from the same period last year. Mill utilization averaged 81.8 percent, up more than 5 percentage points from the 76.6 percent in 2018.
U.S. raw steel production for the week ending March 30 dipped by 1.1 percent from the previous week to 1,913,000 net tons, while the mill capability utilization rate eased by about a percentage point to 82.2 percent. The week’s production represented a 4.8 percent increase from the same period last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Following is production by district for the March 30 week: North East: 210,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 715,000 net tons; Midwest, 187,000 net tons; South, 725,000 net tons; and West, 76,000 net tons, for a total of 1,913,000 tons. Production saw modest decreases across all regions.
The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production tonnage from 50 percent of the domestic producers combined with monthly production data for the remainder. Therefore, this report should be used primarily to assess production trends. The AISI monthly production report provides a more detailed summary of steel production based on data supplied by companies representing 75 percent of U.S. production capacity.
Note: Capability for first-quarter 2019 is approximately 30.5 million tons compared to 30.0 million tons for the same period last year and 30.8 million tons for fourth-quarter 2018.
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
HRC vs. prime scrap spread widens in June
The price spread between HRC and prime scrap widened in June.
SMU price ranges: Steel prices rise in response to tariffs
Steel prices climbed for a second straight week across all five sheet and plate products tracked by SMU.
Nucor lifts list price for spot HRC by $20/ton
The $20/short ton increase applies to all of the steelmaker’s sheet mills, including West Coast joint-venture subsidiary CSI.
Nucor pauses month-long slide in weekly HR price
Nucor halted a four-week decline in its spot price for hot-rolled coil this week, maintaining its weekly consumer spot price (CSP) at $870/st.
Nucor lowers HRC by $10/ton in fourth straight cut
Nucor has lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil by $10 per short ton (st), marking the fourth consecutive weekly decrease.