Raw Steel Production: Mill Utilization Tops the 80 Percent Mark

U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Oct. 13 totaled 1,881,000 net tons with the mills operating at 80.2 percent of capacity, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. The current week’s production is a 1.6 percent improvement from the prior week, and a 10.3 percent jump from the same period last year, when mill utilization was at 73.2 percent. The weekly production figure is the highest since the week ending Jan. 10, 2015, while mill utilization is at a four-year high not seen since Aug. 23, 2014. The domestic mills have been operating near, but just short, of the 80 percent mark nearly every week for the past few months. This latest report, which shows the industry at its goal operating level, should offer a psychological boost.

Adjusted year-to-date producton through Oct. 13 totaled 74,201,000 net tons at a capability utilization rate of 77.6 percent, up 4.8 percent from the same period last year when the capability utilization was 74.3 percent.