Steel Products Prices North America

Weekly Raw Steel Production Up 1.6%

December 19, 2017

U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Dec. 16 totaled 1,698,000 net tons, a 5.7 percent increase from the same period last year, but up 1.6 percent from the prior week. The mill capability utilization rate for the week averaged 72.8 percent, up from 71.7 percent the prior week and 67.8 percent the prior year, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington.

Adjusted year-to-date production through Dec. 16 totaled 86,751,000 net tons, up 4.3 percent from the same period last year. The average mill capability utilization rate for the year to date was 74.4 percent, up from 70.5 percent in 2016.

Following is production by district for the week of Dec. 16: North East: 213,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 628,000 net tons; Midwest, 167,000 net tons; South, 623,000 net tons; and West, 67,000 net tons, for a total of 1,698,000.

The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production tonnage from 50 percent of the domestic producers combined with monthly production data for the remainder. Therefore, this report should be used primarily to assess production trends. The AISI monthly production report provides a more detailed summary of steel production based on data supplied by companies representing 75 percent of U.S. production capacity.

Mill capability for fourth-quarter 2017 is approximately 30.6 million tons, compared to 30.7 million tons for the same period last year and 30.6 million tons for third-quarter 2017.

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