Steel Products Prices North America

Mill Utilization Keeps Positive Momentum

Written by David Schollaert

April 6, 2021

U.S. raw steel production rose for the second consecutive week following a slight dip in mid-March. Weekly steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,766,000 tons in the week ending April 3, an increase of 0.3% compared with the week prior when production was 1,760,000 tons. The mill utilization rate last week averaged 77.9%, up from 77.6% week on week, and up 15.7% from the same period last year when production totaled 1,526,000 tons in the early stages of COVID-19.

Adjusted year-to-date production through April 3 was 23,172,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 77.0%. That’s down 4.2% from the same period last year when the utilization rate was 79.0% and production was 24,185,000 net tons, AISI said.

Following is production by district for the April 3 week: North East, 159,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 610,000 net tons; Midwest, 184,000 net tons; South, 742,000 net tons; and West, 71,000 net tons for a total of 1,766,000 net tons. Production was up by 6,000 net tons compared to the week prior due exclusively to increased production in the South. The other four districts posted decreased output week on week.

Note: The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production tonnage provided from 50% of the domestic producers combined with monthly production data for the remainder. Therefore, this report should be used primarily to assess production trends. AISI’s monthly production report provides a more detailed summary of steel production based on data supplied by companies representing 75% of U.S. production capacity. Capability for the first quarter of 2021 is approximately 29.1 million tons compared to 30.1 million tons for the same period last year and 29.1 million tons for the fourth quarter of 2020.

WeeklyRawSteelProd Wk15

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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