Steel Products Prices North America

Weekly Mill Utilization Hits 10-Year High of 83.4 Percent

Written by Tim Triplett

March 12, 2019

U.S. steel mills continued to raise the productivity bar, reaching an average capability utilization rate of 83.4 percent in the week ending March 9. Domestic raw steel production for the week totaled 1,941,000 net tons, up 0.7 percent from the prior week and 6.3 percent from the same period last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.

To put that in historical perspective, this is the highest capacity utilization rate seen in over 10 years, since the week ending Sept. 20, 2008, when 2,027,000 tons were produced at a rate of 85.0 percent. This is the highest weekly production seen in nearly seven years, since the week ending May 24, 2012, when 1,961,000 tons were produced at a capacity utilization rate of 79.4 percent.

The U.S. steel industry has produced 18,380,000 tons of steel so far in 2019, a 6.8 percent increase from the same period last year. Mill utilization has averaged 81.3 percent this year, up nearly 5 percentage points from the 76.6 percent in 2018. 

Following is production by district for the March 9 week: North East: 232,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 723,000 net tons; Midwest, 214,000 net tons; South, 697,000 net tons; and West, 75,000 net tons, for a total of 1,941,000 tons. Production for the week was up in all regions but the South. 

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: Capability for first-quarter 2019 is approximately 30.5 million tons compared to 30.0 million tons for the same period last year and 30.8 million tons for fourth-quarter 2018.

Tim Triplett

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