Steel Products Prices North America
Mills Start New Year Above 80% Capacity
Written by David Schollaert
January 3, 2022
Steel production by domestic mills saw a small dip over the holidays, but capacity utilization remains above a healthy 80% to start the New Year.
Raw steel output totaled 1,785,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 1, 2022, up 9.5% from the same period last year but down 0.9% from the prior week when production was 1,802,000 tons, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Mill capacity utilization last week averaged 80.9%, down 0.7% from the prior week but up 7.5% from an average of 73.4% utilization in the week ending Jan. 1, 2021.
Broken down by districts, here’s production for the week ending Jan. 1, 2022: Northeast: 183,000 tons; Great Lakes: 629,000 tons; Midwest: 197,000 tons; Southern: 707,000 tons; and Western: 69,000 tons, for a total of 1,785,000.
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
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