Weekly Steel Production Resumes Uptrend

Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,579,000 net tons in the week ending Dec. 5. As expected, production increased by 1.2 percent after edging off slightly the week prior due to the Thanksgiving holiday break. The operating rate as a result rose to 71.4 percent, up from 70.6 percent the prior week. Even though present mill utilization is down 13.1 percent compared with year-ago levels, based on the way the American Iron and Steel Institutes calculates the data including idled capacity, most flat rolled mills actually are running full out.

Adjusted year-to-date production through Dec. 5 was 73,765,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 67.2 percent. That is down 18.3 percent from the same period last year, when the utilization rate was 80.0 percent, AISI said.

Raw steel production

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.

David Schollaert

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