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    May 4, 2021

    Weekly Raw Steel Production Still Edging Up

    Written by David Schollaert

    Raw steel production by U.S. mills rose for the third week in a row, hitting 1,788,000 tons in the week ending May 1, up 0.4% from the previous week when production totaled 1,781,000 net tons. The mill utilization rate last week averaged 78.7%, up from 78.4% the week before and up 44.4% from the same period last year when production was 1,238,000 net tons and utilization was just 55.2% due to the COVID shutdowns.

    The market is still behind pre-pandemic levels, according the data compiled by AISI. When comparing the latest data to the comparable pre-COVID-19 period in 2019, current production is down 6.6%.

    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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