Steel Products Prices North America

Monthly Raw Steel Production: Small Dip in April After March's Peak

Written by Brett Linton

June 5, 2017

The American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) recently reported final U.S. raw steel production estimates for the month of April 2017. The monthly estimates are different than the weekly estimates we report; the monthly estimates are based on over 75 percent of the domestic mills reporting vs. only 50 percent for the weekly estimates.

Total raw steel production for the month of April was reported to be 7,375,169 net tons with 5,004,948 tons being produced by electric arc furnaces (EAF) and 2,370,221 tons produced by blast furnaces. April raw steel production was reported to be 224,184 tons or 3.0 percent lower than the previous month, but 98,608 tons or 1.4 percent higher than the same month last year. As seen in the table below, 7 of the 11 state-groups reported a decrease in month-over-month production.

Compared to the first four months of 2016, 2017 year-to-date (YTD) production is up 2.8 percent to 29,743,710 tons. The table below shows that 8 of the 11 state-groups reported increased YTD production compared to the same period last year.

The capacity utilization rate for the month of April 2017 was reported to be 73.6 percent, unchanged from March and up from 72.6 percent one year ago. The yearly capacity utilization rate is remains at 74.6 percent and is up from 71.6 percent in April 2016.

SMU Note: An interactive graphic of our raw steel production history can be seen in the Analysis section of our website here. Two condensed examples can be found below. If you need help logging into the website or navigating through it, please contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475.

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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