Steel Products Prices North America

Weekly Raw Steel Production Slips Below 80% Utilization: AISI

Written by David Schollaert

July 11, 2022

Raw steel production by US mills slipped last week, pushing utilization rates below the 80% mark for the first time since early April. Domestic capacity utilization shrank to 79.3% while mill production totaled 1,748,000 net tons in the week ending July 9, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported.

US output was down 1.1% versus the week prior, likely due to the extended 4th of July holiday weekend. Production was also down 6.1% versus the same year-ago period when production was 1,862,000 net tons. Mill capacity utilization last week was 1.6 percentage points below the prior week and 5.1 percentage points below the same period one year ago when utilization was 84.4%.

Adjusted year-to-date production through July 9 totaled 47,616,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 80.5%. That’s 2.3% below the same period last year when production was 48,761,000 net tons, though the utilization rate was lower at 80.1%, AISI said.

Production rose in two of five regions last week but was offset by declines in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and the South regions. The Great Lakes saw the largest decline in both tons and percentage week-on-week (WoW), down 20,000 net tons (-3.4%), followed by the South (-12,000 net tons, or -1.6%), and the Northeast (-1,000 net tons or -0.6%).

Below is the production by region for the week ending July 9: Northeast, 164,000 tons; Great Lakes, 577,000 tons; Midwest, 209,000 tons; South, 725,000 tons; and West, 73,000 tons – for a total of 1,748000 net tons, down 19,000 net tons from the prior week.

WeeklyRawSteelProd Wk28

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 US 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.

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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