Raw steel output falls to close 2023, annual production slightly higher

Output was down 0.8% from the previous week when mills operated at 73.7% of capability. However, output was 6.6% higher compared to the same week last year when mills produced 1,576,000 tons.

Production by region is shown below, with the week-over-week changes shown in parentheses:

• Northeast – 125,000 tons (down 5,000 tons)
• Great Lakes – 545,000 tons (down 6,000 tons)
• Midwest – 183,000 tons (down 2,000 tons)
• South – 762,000 tons (up 2,000 tons)
• West – 65,000 tons (down 2,000 tons)

2023 production

Adjusted raw steel output for the 2023 calendar year through Dec. 30 totaled 88,727,000 tons, AISI said. Annual production was 0.2% higher than the 88,528,000 tons produced during the same period of 2022.

For the year, the mill capability utilization rate was 75.4% compared to 77.5% in 2022.

Output in the last week of 2023 was 5.3% higher than the 1,595,000 tons produced in the first week of the year. Figure 1 shows production trending higher in the first half of the year and then trending slightly lower in the latter portion of the year.