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    June 1, 2021

    Weekly Mill Utilization Eclipses the 80% Mark

    Written by David Schollaert

    Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,836,000 net tons in the week ended May 29, up 2.4% compared to the week prior when production totaled 1,793,000 net tons, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The mill utilization rate last week averaged 81.5%, up from 79.0% the week before and up 50.1% from the same period last year when production was 1,223,000 net tons and mill utilization was just 54.6% because of COVID-driven interruptions.

    For the first week since the global health crisis curbed U.S. steel production in mid-March 2020, output and mill utilization have returned to pre-pandemic levels, according the data compiled by AISI. Mill utilization eclipsed the 80.0% mark last seen during the week ended March 14, 2020. When comparing the latest data to the same pre-COVID-19 period in 2019, current production is down just 2.9%.

    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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