Steel Products Prices North America
U.S. Raw Steel Production Climbs in August
Written by Brett Linton
October 9, 2020
U.S. raw steel production rose 9.4 percent to 6,538,000 net tons in August, as reported by the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. August production is slightly below the 2020 monthly average of 6,580,000 tons, and down 19.8 percent compared to the same month last year.
August production was 560,000 tons higher than July, but 1,615,000 tons lower than the same month last year. Note that AISI’s monthly raw steel production 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, 4,649,000 tons (71.1 percent) were produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 1,888,000 tons (28.9 percent) were produced by blast furnaces.
The mill capacity utilization rate for August averaged 65.9 percent, up from 60.3 percent in July, but down from 79.1 percent one year ago. The average capacity utilization rate for the year is now 66.6 percent, down from 80.7 percent in the same eight-month period of 2019.
SMU Note: Interactive versions of these raw steel production graphics can be seen in the Analysis section of our website here. We have detailed regional data available as well. If you need assistance logging into or navigating the website, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
SMU price ranges: Most sheet and plate products drift lower
Steel sheet prices mostly edged lower for a second week, while plate prices slipped for the third consecutive week.
Nucor drops HRC price to $720/ton
After holding its weekly spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil steady for three weeks at $730 per short ton (st), Nucor lowered the price this week by $10/st.
SMU price ranges: Sheet slips, plate falls to 45-month low
Steel sheet and plate prices moved lower this week as efforts among some mills to hold the line on tags ran up against continued concerns about demand.
CRU: US longs prices remain mostly flat in October
CRU Senior Steel Analyst Alexandra Anderson shares insight into the current market for long steel products.
Nucor holds HR base price at $730/st
Nucor is holding its hot-rolled (HR) coil consumer spot price (CSP) at $730 per short ton (st) this week.