Market Data
February 16, 2026
AISI: Domestic output jumps to multi-year high
Written by Brett Linton
Raw steel production ramped up last week to one of the highest weekly rates recorded in the last four years, according to recently released American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data. Production has strengthened in recent weeks following the multi-month lows seen at the end of last year.
US mills produced an estimated 1,800,000 short tons (st) of raw steel in the week ending Feb. 14, up 17,000 st, or 1.0%, from the prior week (Figure 1). This is tied with one other week (mid-August 2025) for the highest unadjusted weekly production rate recorded since January 2022.
Last week’s production was 2.2% above the year-to-date (YTD) weekly average of 1,762,000 st, and 5.6% higher than the same week one year prior. YTD production now totals 11,357,000 st, up 4.0% from the same period last year.
The mill capability utilization rate was 77.8% last week. This is up from both the previous week (77.1%) and the same week last year (76.5%). Capability utilization has averaged 76.4% YTD.
Raw production increased week over week (w/w) in three of the five AISI defined regions:
- Northeast – 123,000 st (down 1,000 st)
- Great Lakes – 511,000 st (down 15,000 st)
- Midwest – 272,000 st (up 3,000 st)
- South – 826,000 st (up 26,000 st)
- West – 68,000 st (up 4,000 st)
Editor’s note: The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated and should be used primarily to assess production trends. The graphic included in this report shows unadjusted weekly data. The monthly AISI “AIS 7” report is available by subscription and provides a more detailed summary of domestic steel production.
