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Weekly Mill Utilization Dips Again to 78.8 Percent

Written by Tim Triplett

September 10, 2019

Raw steel production by domestic steelmakers dipped for the second week in a row, taking the industry’s average capacity utilization rate down to 78.8 percent–the lowest level since the week of Aug. 4, 2018. Production for the week ending Sept. 7 totaled 1,835,000 net tons, down 0.8 percent from the previous week and down 1.7 percent compared with the same period last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. 

U.S. mills have produced 67,148,000 net tons for the year to date, a 4.0 percent increase compared with the same period in 2018. Mill utilization has averaged 80.8 percent so far this year, up from 77.5 percent last year.

Following is production by district for the Sept 7 week: North East: 214,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 686,000 net tons; Midwest, 190,000 net tons; South, 672,000 net tons; and West, 73,000 net tons, for a total of 1,835,000 tons. Production for the week was down in the South and Midwest, but up in the Northeast, Great Lakes and West 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.

Note: Capability for third-quarter 2019 is approximately 30.6 million tons compared to 30.8 million tons for the same period last year and 30.3 million tons for second-quarter 2019.

Tim Triplett

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