Steel Product Producers

AISI: Raw steel output up for a third straight week

February 19, 2024

Domestic production of raw steel moved higher again last week, improving for the third consecutive week, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Steel output in the US totaled an estimated 1,721,000 short tons (st) in the week ended Feb. 17. That’s up 0.6% from the previous week but a decrease of 4.4% from the same week last year when production stood at 1,800,000 st.

The mill capability utilization rate was 77.5% in the week ended Feb. 17, up from 77% a week earlier yet down from 80.5% a year ago. At 77.5%, utilization is at its highest since the week ended June 24, 2023, when capability reached 78.1%.

Despite the boost, present utilization rates at a total steel output of 1,721,000 st assume the estimated total annual domestic production of 115.4 million st, which is a decrease of 4.1 million st from the end of 2023.

Year-to-date production through Feb. 17 was 11,657,000 st at a capability utilization rate of 76.5%. That was off 1.8% from 11,873,000 st in the same period a year earlier when capability utilization was 78.1%.

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

Northeast – 127,000 st (down 6,000 st)
Great Lakes – 558,000 st (down 2,000 st)
Midwest – 190,000 st (up 2,000 st)
South – 777,000 st (up 18,000 st)
West – 69,000 st (down 1,000 st)

Editor’s 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 U.S. production capacity.

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.