Steel Products Prices North America

March Raw Steel Production Nears 5-Year High

Written by Brett Linton

May 12, 2019

Total raw steel production for the month of March rose to 8,472,311 net tons, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. This is the highest monthly production level seen in four and a half years, going back to August 2014 when it was 8,546,303 tons.

Broken down by production method, 5,833,229 tons (68.9 percent) were produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 2,639,082 tons (31.1 percent) were produced by blast furnaces. The EAF production level is now at the highest seen in our nine-year history, surpassing the October 2018 high of 5,724,209 tons

March production was 804,647 tons or 10.5 percent higher than February, and 387,884 tons or 4.8 percent higher than the same month one year ago. AISI’s monthly estimates are different than the weekly estimates we report each Tuesday; the monthly estimates are based on over 75 percent of the domestic mills reporting versus only 50 percent reporting for the weekly estimates.

The mill capacity utilization rate for March averaged 82.2 percent, down from 82.4 percent in February, but up from 78.3 percent one year ago. If you disregard the February high, this is the highest utilization rate seen in our nine-year history, surpassing the November 2018 high of 81.2 percent. February’s rate was technically higher, but only due to the shorter month and the way in which the AISI calculates their monthly data.

The chart below shows total monthly steel production (blue) broken down by electric arc furnace production (green) and blast furnace production (red).

SMU Note: Interactive versions of the raw steel production graphics above can be seen in the Analysis section of our website here. If you need assistance logging into or navigating the website, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.

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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