Steel Products Prices North America

Raw Steel Production Moves Higher: AISI

Written by David Schollaert

May 30, 2023

Raw steel production by US mills edged up again last week, moving higher for the third straight week, according to data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) on Tuesday, May 30.

Domestic production stood at 1,737,000 net tons in the week ended May 27 vs. 1,728,000 tons the previous week, and the highest total since the week ended Aug. 27, 2022. Output was still off 1.9% from 1,771,000 tons in the same week last year.

The mill capability utilization rate was 77.2% last week, up from 76.8% a week earlier and the highest rate since early September 2022. Despite the boost, the measure was still down from 81.1% in the same week last year.

AISI said that adjusted year-to-date production through May 27 was 35,352,000 tons at a capability utilization rate of 75.1%. This is down 3.9% from the year-ago period when 36,774,000 tons were produced with an overall capability utilization rate of 80.5%.

Production by region for the week ending May 27 is below. (Note: week-over-week change is in parentheses.)

  • Northeast – 143,000 tons (down 4,000 tons)
  • Great Lakes – 558,000 tons (down 8,000 tons)
  • Midwest – 223,000 tons (up 11,000 tons)
  • South – 744,000 tons (up 16,000 tons)
  • West – 59,000 tons (down 6,000 tons)

WeeklyRawSteelProd Wk23

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 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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