Steel Products Prices North America

U.S. Raw Steel Production Bounced Back in July

Written by Brett Linton

September 24, 2019

Total U.S. raw steel production in the month of July rose 2.4 percent to 8,178,563 net tons, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. August production is right in line with the 2019 average of 8,146,449 tons and is up 0.5 percent compared to the same month last year.

Broken down by production method, 5,761,012 tons (70.4 percent) were produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 2,417,551 tons (29.6 percent) were produced by blast furnaces in July. The EAF share of total production was at the third highest level seen in our ~10 year history (behind October 2017 at 70.7 percent and April 2019 at 70.5 percent).

July production was 193,575 tons higher than June, and 39,965 tons higher than the same month last year. AISI’s monthly estimates are different than the weekly estimates SMU reports 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 July averaged 79.4 percent, down from 80.1 percent in June, but up from 78.4 percent one year ago. The yearly capacity utilization rate has been adjusted down to 80.9 percent, up from 77.0 percent compared to the same six-month period last year.

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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