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    April 13, 2021

    Weekly Raw Steel Production Edges Down 0.3%

    Written by David Schollaert

    Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,761,000 net tons in the week ending April 10, down 0.3% compared with the week before when production was 1,766,000 net tons. The mill utilization rate last week averaged 77.6%, down from 77.9% the week prior, but up 42.0% from the same period last year when production was 1,240,000 net tons and utilization was 55.4%.

    Year-ago output was severely impacted by widespread shutdowns and mitigation efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19. Thus, contrasting production with year-ago levels can be misleading. If compared with the same period in 2019, however, production is down 8.7% from when it totaled 1,915,000 net tons. Mill utilization was 82.3% on April 13, 2019.

    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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