Steel Products Prices North America

Steel Mill Utilization Steady at 82-83 Percent

April 16, 2019

Steel mill utilization around 82 to 83 percent appears to be the norm for 2019. U.S. raw steel production for the week ending April 13 decreased by 0.7 percent from the previous week to 1,915,000 net tons, while the mill capability utilization rate inched down a half percentage point to 82.3 percent. The week’s production represented a 7.6 percent increase from the same period last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Adjusted year-to-date production through April 13 totaled 28,051,000 tons at an average capability utilization rate of 81.9 percent, an increase of 6.8 percent from the same period last year when the utilization rate was 76.4 percent

Following is production by district for the April 13 week: North East: 184,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 725,000 net tons; Midwest, 183,000 net tons; South, 748,000 net tons; and West, 75,000 net tons, for a total of 1,915,000 tons. Production increased significantly in the Great Lakes and modestly in the South, but saw small declines in all the other regions.

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.