Steel Products Prices North America

Raw Steel Production Rebounds to Highest Point Since Aug. '22: AISI

Written by David Schollaert

May 15, 2023

Raw steel production by US mills recovered last week, up 0.8% from the week prior and moving to its highest output since late August 2022, according to data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) on Monday, May 15.

Domestic production stood at 1,725,000 net tons in the week ended May 13 vs. 1,712,000 tons the previous week. Output was off 2.6% from 1,771,000 tons in the same week last year.

The mill capability utilization rate was 76.7% last week, up from 76.1% a week earlier but still down markedly from 81.1% in the same week last year.

AISI said that adjusted year-to-date production through May 13 was 31,887,000 tons at a capability utilization rate of 74.9%. This is down 4% from the year-ago period when 33,232,000 tons were produced with an overall capability utilization rate of 80.5%.

Production by region for the week ending May 13 is below. (Note: week-over-week change is in parentheses.)

  • Northeast – 145,000 tons (up 6,000 tons)
  • Great Lakes – 577,000 tons (down 3,000 tons)
  • Midwest – 213,000 tons (up 5,000 tons)
  • South – 726,000 tons (up 9,000 tons)
  • West – 64,000 tons (down 4,000 tons)

WeeklyRawSteelProd Wk22

Note: The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production tonnages 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 a senior analyst 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. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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