Steel Products Prices North America

Steel Mill Utilization Ends the Year Near 75 Percent

Written by David Schollaert

January 5, 2021

Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,650,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 2, up 3.1 percent from the week before, which saw some slowing due to the holiday. The average mill utilization rate rose to 74.6 percent, up from 72.3 percent the week prior. Production in the last week of 2020 was still 10.4 percent below the same period in 2019. 

The adjusted year-to-date production through Jan. 2 of 1,650,000 net tons compares to 1,841,000 tons and a capability utilization rate of 80.1 percent last year, AISI said.

Following is production by district for the Jan. 2 week: North East, 159,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 591,000 net tons; Midwest, 182,000 net tons; South, 643,000 net tons; and West, 75,000 net tons for a total of 1,650,000. Production was up in all regions by a net total week over week of 50,000 net tons.

Note: 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. Capability for fourth-quarter 2020 is approximately 29.1 million tons, compared to 30.4 million tons for the same period last year and 29.4 million tons for the second quarter of 2020.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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