Steel Products Prices North America

Weekly Raw Steel Production: 2+ Year Low

Written by Brett Linton

February 24, 2015

For the week ending February 21, 2015, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) estimated that the U.S. steel industry produced 1,716,000 net tons (NT) of raw steel, a 2.5 percent decrease over the previous week and a 5.9 percent decrease over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate is 72.6 percent, down from 74.4 percent last week and down from 75.8 percent last year.

Raw steel production is the lowest level seen since the week ending November 1, 2012 when production was 1,707,000 tons and the capacity utilization rate was 69.7 percent. The latest capacity utilization rate is the lowest seen since the week ending December 27, 2014 when it was 72.6 percent and production was at 1,746,000 tons.

Estimated total raw steel produced for 2015 YTD is reported to be 13,353,000 tons, down 1.5 percent from the 13,551,000 tons produced during the same period in 2014. The average capacity utilization rate for 2015 YTD is estimated to be 76.0 percent, up from 75.8 percent for 2014 YTD.

Note that the total production capability figure for Q1 2015 is approximately 30,400,000 tons versus 30,900,000 tons for Q1 2014 and 31,600,000 tons for Q4 2014. 

Week-over-week changes per district are as follows: Northeast at 214,000 tons, down 2,000 tons. Great Lakes at 652,000 tons, down 4,000 tons. Midwest at 216,000 tons, up 7,000 tons. South at 545,000 tons, down 47,000 tons. West at 89,000 tons, up 2,000 tons. Total production was 1,716,000 tons, down 44,000 tons.

SMU Note: You can view the interactive graphic on weekly raw steel production below when you are logged into the website and reading the newsletter online. If you have not logged into the website in the past and need your username and password, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by calling 800-432-3475. If you need help navigating the website we would also be very happy to assist you.

{amchart id=”84″ Weekly Raw Steel Production from AISI}

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

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