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Weekly Mill Utilization Tops 83 Percent

Written by Tim Triplett

March 26, 2019

Production at U.S. steel mills continued at levels not seen in years, inching up slightly in the week ending March 23 to an average capability utilization rate of 83.1 percent. Domestic raw steel production for the week totaled 1,934,000 net tons, up 0.2 percent from the prior week and up 5.9 percent from the same period last year when the mills operated at 78.3 percent of capacity, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.

The U.S. steel industry has produced 22,244,000 tons of steel so far in 2019, a 6.6 percent increase from the same period last year. Mill utilization has averaged 81.6 percent this year, up 5 percentage points from the 76.6 percent in 2018. 

Following is production by district for the March 23 week: North East: 214,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 716,000 net tons; Midwest, 189,000 net tons; South, 737,000 net tons; and West, 78,000 net tons, for a total of 1,934,000 tons. Production for the week increased in the South and West regions, but decreased in the Northeast, Midwest and Great Lakes. 

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

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