Steel Products Prices North America
Domestic Mills Fall Below 60 Percent of Capacity
Written by Tim Triplett
April 14, 2020
U.S. raw steel production continued to plummet last week as domestic steelmakers took further steps to adjust output to weak steel demand as the economy struggles with the coronavirus. Production in the April 11 week totaled 1,256,000 net tons with the mills operating at an average capability utilization rate of 56.1 percent, down from a rate of 68.5 percent in the week ending April 4, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. The current week’s production represents a 33.6 percent decrease from the same week last year. The last time raw steel production was this low was the week ending July 25, 2009, during the Great Recession, when 1,254,000 tons were produced at a utilization rate of 52.6 percent.
AISI’s capacity utilization figures are somewhat misleading as they do not factor in furnaces that have been idled by various mills in the past few weeks. AISI considers a furnace to be part of a mill’s capability until it has been shut down permanently. Thus, the mills that remain in production are most likely operating above the levels currently reported by AISI.
Adjusted year-to-date production through April 11 totaled 26,323,000 net tons at an average utilization rate of 77.9 percent–down 4.9 percent from production in the same period last year when the average utilization rate was 81.5 percent.
Following is production by district for the April 11 week: North East: 104,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 430,000 net tons; Midwest, 122,000 net tons; South, 556,000 net tons; and West, 44,000 net tons, for a total of 1,256,000 tons. Production declined in all regions by a total of 278,000 tons.
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.
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
CRU: Longs pricing trends diverge in North, South America
Most longs prices in the US were unchanged this month, except for rebar, which declined by $1.50/cwt ($30/short ton) m/m. While end-use demand is stable, inventories are well-stocked, keeping purchases limited. Domestic availability is sufficient to meet current demand, hindering the appetite for imported material. Meanwhile, prices for scrap remained under pressure in June, with […]
Nucor cuts plate prices by $125/ton, cites ongoing competition
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, and normalized plate with the opening of its August order book.
Nucor cuts HR price for fourth straight week
Nucor lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil by another $10 per short ton (st) for the first week of July. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday that its CSP base price for the week will be $670/st for all of its sheet mills with the exception of California Steel Industries (CSI).
Cliffs sets $720/ton HR price with opening of August books
Cleveland-Cliffs on Tuesday announced its monthly hot-rolled (HR) coil price of $720 per short ton (st) with the official opening of its August order book. The rate is down from last month’s price of $800/st.
CRU: Demand weakness continues to weigh on global sheet markets
Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]