Steel Products Prices North America

May U.S. Raw Steel Production at 5.4 Million Tons

Written by Brett Linton

July 12, 2020

U.S. raw steel production in May rose 1.9 percent to 5,415,000 net tons, as reported last week by the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. May production was well below the 2020 average of 6,934,000 tons, and down nearly 3 million tons or 35.0 percent compared to the same month last year.

May production was 100,000 tons higher than April, but 2,911,000 tons lower than the same month last year. AISI’s monthly estimates are different than the weekly estimates SMU reports 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.

Broken down by production method, 4,207,000 tons (77.7 percent) were produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 1,208,000 tons (22.3 percent) were produced by blast furnaces. This is the highest EAF-produced share of total production in our 10+ year history.

The mill capacity utilization rate for May averaged 54.6 percent, down from 55.4 percent in April, and down from 80.8 percent one year ago. 

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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