Steel Products Prices North America

U.S. Raw Steel Production Remains Strong in April

Written by Brett Linton

June 14, 2019

Total U.S. raw steel production in the month of April declined 4.3 percent to 8,109,241 net tons, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. Although down over the prior month, the April production level remains strong in comparison to recent months. Also remember that the March production level was the highest seen in four and a half years.

Broken down by production method, 5,715,140 tons (70.5 percent) were produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 2,394,101 tons (29.5 percent) were produced by blast furnaces. The percentage of steel produced by EAF furnaces is now at the second highest level seen in our nine-year history, with the highest level occuring in October 2017 at 70.7 percent.

April production was 363,070 tons or 4.3 percent lower than March, but 479,106 tons or 6.3 percent higher than the same month one year ago. AISI’s monthly estimates are different than the weekly estimates we report each Tuesday; the monthly estimates are based on over 75 percent of the domestic mills reporting versus only 50 percent reporting for the weekly estimates.

The mill capacity utilization rate for April averaged 81.3 percent, down from 82.2 percent in March, but up from 76.0 percent one year ago. The yearly capacity utilization rate has been adjusted down to 81.5 percent, up from 76.4 percent compared to the same four-month period last year.

The chart below shows total monthly steel production (blue) broken down by electric arc furnace production (green) and blast furnace production (red).

SMU Note: Interactive versions of the raw steel production graphics above can be seen in the Analysis section of our website here. If you need assistance logging into or navigating the website, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.

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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