Steel Mills
Weekly Raw Steel Output Keeps Moving Upward: AISI
Written by David Schollaert
February 13, 2023
Raw steel production by US mills continued its rally, increasing for a fifth straight week, according to data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
The increase pushed capacity utilization up to 74.4%, driven by increases in tons in the South and Northeast regions. This is up from the prior week’s 74.1%, but down from 80.8% a year ago.
Domestic mills produced 1,664,000 net tons in the week ending Feb.11, up 0.5%, or 8,000 tons, from the previous week, but down 5.2% from 1,755,000 tons in the same week last year.
Adjusted year-to-date (YTD) production through Feb.11 was at 9,772,000 tons, with YTD capacity utilization at 72.8%. That’s 6.4% below the 10,443,000 tons in the same YTD period in 2022 when capacity utilization was 80.3%, AISI said.
Production by region for the week ending Feb. 11 is below. (Note: week-over-week change is in parentheses.)
- Northeast, 156,000 tons (up 4,000 tons)
- Great Lakes, 524,000 tons (down 4,000 tons)
- Midwest, 203,000 tons (down 4,000 tons)
- South, 718,000 tons (up 13,000 tons)
- West, 63,000 tons (down 1,000 tons)
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
Read more from David SchollaertLatest in Steel Mills
USW seeks clarity on plans for Granite City Works
The United Steelworkers union has asked U.S. Steel to elaborate on its Granite City Works plans following reports that the steelmaker is ending processing at the facility.
Nucor maintains plate prices, opens October order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat for a seventh straight month with the opening of its October order book.
ArcelorMittal Mexico to import from sister mills as it works to resume DRI production
ArcelorMittal has partially restarted operations at its direct reduction plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. An explosion on Aug. 18 rocked the massive steelworks on Mexico’s Pacific coast, impacting production of direct-reduced iron (DRI).
Fall maintenance outages are coming in hot
Labor Day has passed, the sun is starting to set a little earlier each day, and cooler weather has begun to find its way down to many of us across North America. And you know what that means for the steel industry… Fall maintenance outages!
AISI: Domestic steel production ticks up
US raw steel production ticked up in the week ending on Sept. 6 after a decrease the week before, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).