Steel Products Prices North America

Mills Start Year at 82 Percent of Capacity

January 7, 2020

Despite the holidays, domestic steelmakers managed to increase their mill utilization to 82.0 percent in the week ending Jan. 4. The last time weekly production was that high was in May 2019. Raw steel production totaled 1,898,000 net tons, up 1.2 percent from the previous week and up 2.0 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Following is production by district for the Jan. 4 week: North East: 232,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 666,000 net tons; Midwest, 209,000 net tons; South, 698,000 net tons; and West, 93,000 net tons, for a total of 1,898,000 tons. Production for the week was up in every region except the 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.