Weekly Raw Steel Production Slips Again

Last week’s production total represents an 11.8% increase from year-ago levels when mills were still recovering from COVID disruptions. Production by U.S. mills then totaled 1,616,000 net tons and utilization was 73.1%.

Adjusted year-to-date production through Dec. 4 totaled 88,081,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 81.6%. That’s up 19.6% from the same period last year when the utilization rate was 67.8% and production was 73,669,000 net tons, AISI said.

Production fell in three out of five regions last week, the decrease coming from the North East, Great Lakes and South districts. The largest increase week on week came from the Midwest district at 2,000 tons. Below is production by region for the week ending Dec. 4: Northeast, 164,000 tons; Great Lakes, 618,000 tons; Midwest, 201,000 tons; South, 748,000 tons; and West, 76,000 tons – for a total of 1,807,000 net tons, down 30,000 tons from the prior week.

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 third quarter 2021 is approximately 29.0 million tons.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com