Steel Products Prices North America

Steel Production Hits Highest Rate in a Decade

Written by Brett Linton

November 6, 2018

Domestic steelmakers achieved their highest production rate in a decade last week, hitting a capability utilization of 81.8 percent. The last time production was higher was the week ending Sept. 27, 2008, when the mills operated at 83.2 percent and produced nearly 2 million tons.

U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Nov. 3 totaled 1,917,000 net tons, a 12.4 percent jump from the same period last year. The utilization rate of 81.8 percent was a considerable improvement from the 73.2 percent rate in the prior year, and a 1.0 percent increase from the prior week.

Adjusted year-to-date producton through Nov. 3 totaled 79,849,000 net tons at an average capability utilization rate of 77.8 percent, up 5.2 percent from the same period last year when the capability utilization was 74.3 percent.

Following is production by district for the Nov. 3 week: North East: 221,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 690,000 net tons; Midwest, 212,000 net tons; South, 709,000 net tons; and West, 85,000 net tons, for a total of 1,917,000.

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.

Note, mill capability for fourth-quarter 2018 is approximately 30.8 million tons, compared to 30.6 million tons for the same period last year and 30.8 million tons for third-quarter 2018.

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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