Steel Mills

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

Written by Laura Miller

January 2, 2024

Raw steel production in the US fell to a 38-week low to close out the last week of 2023.

US mills produced an estimated 1,680,000 net tons of raw steel in the week ending Dec. 30, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The mill capability utilization rate was 73.1% for the week.

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.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

Read more from Laura Miller

Latest in Steel Mills