Long Products
June 15, 2026
AISI: Steel mill output cools after recent high
Written by Brett Linton
The volume of raw steel produced by US mills slipped to a seven-week low last week but remains historically high, according to American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures released on Monday.
Domestic raw steel production totaled 1,854,000 short tons (st) in the week ending June 13, a decline of 23,000 st, or 1.2%, from the prior week (Figure 1). This comes one month after production reached a six-year high of 1,898,000 st.
Last week’s production was 2.1% above the year-to-date (YTD) weekly average of 1,815,000 st, and 3.5% higher than the same week one year ago. YTD production now totals 42,544,000 st, 6.3% higher than the same time frame of 2025.
The mill capability utilization rate dipped to 80.3% last week. This is down from the previous week (81.3%) but up compared to the same week one year ago (79.8%). Recall that this rate climbed to a four-year high of 82.2% earlier in June. Capability utilization has averaged 78.6% YTD.
Raw production decreased week over week (w/w) in all five AISI-defined regions:
- Northeast – 137,000 st (down 3,000 st)
- Great Lakes – 498,000 st (down 4,000 st)
- Midwest – 316,000 st (down 2,000 st)
- South – 835,000 st (down 9,000 st)
- West – 68,000 st (down 5,000 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.
