Steel Products Prices North America

Weekly Raw Steel Production Slips Again

Written by David Schollaert

November 2, 2021

Raw steel production by U.S. mills slipped for the second consecutive week following their highest tonnage output since the pandemic started just two weeks prior. Domestic raw steel production was estimated at 1,860,000 net tons in the week ending Oct. 30, while the average mill utilization rate was 84.3%, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Output was down 0.5% compared to the week prior when production was estimated at 1,870,000 net tons and average utilization was 84.7%. Last week’s production total represents a 20.1% increase from year-ago levels when the market was recovering from the early impact of the pandemic. Production by U.S. mills then was 1,549,000 net tons and utilization was 70.1%.

Adjusted year-to-date production through Oct. 30 totaled 78,879,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 81.4%. That’s up 20.3% from the same period last year when the utilization rate was 67.1% and production was 65,579,000 net tons, AISI said.

Increased production in three of the five regions last week was offset by decreases in the Great Lakes and South regions. Below is production by region for the week ending Oct. 30: Northeast, 178,000 tons; Great Lakes, 618,000 tons; Midwest, 204,000 tons; South, 781,000 tons; and West, 79,000 tons – for a total of 1,860,000 net tons, down 10,000 net tons from the prior week.

 WeeklyRawSteelProd Wk44

Note: The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production tonnage provided by approximately 50% of the domestic production capacity combined with the most recent monthly production data for the remainder. Therefore, this report should be used primarily to assess production trends. The AISI production report “AIS 7,” published monthly and available by subscription, provides a more detailed summary of steel production based on data supplied by companies representing 75% of U.S. production capacity. Given the large number of changes to steelmaking capability in the current rapidly evolving market environment, AISI is undertaking a comprehensive review of its raw steel production and capability utilization statistics to ensure that they accurately reflect market conditions. Any updates to capability will be phased in over several weeks. Capability for the fourth quarter 2021 is approximately 29.0 million tons.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

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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