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    March 30, 2021

    Mill Utilization Recovers After Recent Slip

    Written by David Schollaert

    U.S. raw steel production rebounded last week after slipping a bit the week prior. Weekly steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,760,000 tons in the week ending March 27, an increase of 0.4% compared with the week before when production was 1,753,000 tons. The mill utilization rate last week averaged 77.6%, up from 77.3% week on week, and up 1.1% from the same period last year when production totaled 1,741,000 tons.

    Adjusted year-to-date production through March 27 was 21,386,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 76.8%. That’s down 5.6% from the same period last year when the utilization rate was 79.6% and production was 22,658,000 net tons, AISI said.

    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.

    Read more from David Schollaert

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