Small Step Back for Weekly Steel Production

Weekly raw steel output by U.S. mills, which had increased for the prior three weeks, took a small step back in the week ending Jan. 23 with total production of 1,717,000 net tons, down 1.6 percent from the week before. The mill utilization rate was 75.7 percent, down from 76.7 percent week on week and down 9.9 percent compared to the same week in 2020 when the utilization then was 82.4 percent. The lower output may be attributed to the observance of the MLK federal holiday at the beginning of the week, as all regions saw lower utilization rates.

Adjusted year-to-date production through Jan. 23 was 5,635,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 75.8 percent. That’s down 9.7 percent from the same period last year then the utilization rate was 82.4 percent and production was 6,243,000 net tons, AISI said.