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    April 20, 2021

    Weekly Raw Steel Production Seesaw Continues

    Written by David Schollaert

    Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills, which totaled 1,770,000 net tons in the week ending April 17, has seen small up-and-down fluctuations over the past five weeks. Average mill utilization last week grew to 78.0%, up from 77.6% the week prior, but a big jump from the same period last year when production was just 1,240,000 net tons and mill utilization was historically low at 55.4%.

    Due to the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, which stalled the economy and steel production, year-ago comparisons are skewed and impractical. When compared with the more normal period in 2019, however, production is presently down 7.0%, as output totaled 1,903,000 net tons and mill utilization was 81.8% on April 20, 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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