Steel Products Prices North America

June Raw Steel Production at 7.5 Million Tons

Written by Brett Linton

August 13, 2017

Total raw steel production for the month of June was 7,487,972 net tons, with 5,182,147 tons produced by electric arc furnaces (EAF) and 2,305,825 tons produced by blast furnaces. June raw steel production was 118,921 tons or 1.6 percent lower than the previous month, and 34,195 tons or 0.5 percent lower than the same month last year, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) in Washington. AISI’s monthly estimates are different than the weekly estimates we report; the monthly estimates are based on over 75 percent of the domestic mills reporting versus only 50 percent reporting for the weekly estimates.

As seen in the table below, seven of the 11 state groups reported a decrease in month-over-month production.

Compared to the first six months of 2016, 2017 year-to-date (YTD) production increased 1.6 percent to 44,838,575 tons. The table below shows that eight of the 11 state groups reported an increase in YTD production compared to the same period last year.

The mill capacity utilization rate for June 2017 was 74.9 percent, up from 73.7 percent in May, but down from 75.1 percent one year ago. The yearly capacity utilization rate is 74.4 percent, up from 74.3 percent the month before, and up from 72.6 percent in June 2016.

SMU Note: An interactive graphic of our raw steel production history can be seen in the Analysis section of our website here. A sample of one of the graphics showing monthly capacity utilization is below. If you need help logging into or navigating the website, 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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