Steel Products Prices North America

Weekly Raw Steel Production Eases Again

Written by David Schollaert

August 9, 2022

Raw steel production by US mills slipped for a second straight week, easing to a 17-month low of 1,723,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 6.  This is the lowest weekly production figure reported since early February 2021. Domestic capacity utilization shrank lower to a 15-month low of 78.2%, marking the fourth week below 80%, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute.

US output was down 0.2% versus the week prior and down 7.8% versus the same year-ago period when production was 1,869,000 net tons. Mill capacity utilization last week was 0.2 percentage points below the prior week and 6.5 percentage points below the same period one year ago when utilization was 84.7%.

Adjusted year-to-date production through Aug. 6 totaled 54,470,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 80.1%. That’s 3.1% below the same period last year when production was 56,216,000 net tons, though the utilization rate was lower at 80.2%, AISI said.

Output rose in three of five regions last week but was offset by declines in the Midwest (-10,000 net tons or -4.8%) and Northeast (-4,000 net tons or -2.4%).

Production by region for the week ending Aug. 6 was: Northeast, 162,000 tons; Great Lakes, 567,000 tons; Midwest, 197,000 tons; South, 731,000 tons; and West, 66,000 tons—for a total of 1,723,000 net tons, down 4,000 net tons from the prior week.

WeeklyRawSteelProd Wk32

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.

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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