Steel Products Prices North America

Mill Capacity Utilization Up to 79.7 Percent

December 17, 2019

Mill capacity utilization increased by a percentage point in the week ending Dec. 14 to 79.7 percent. Production totaled 1,844,000 net tons, up 1.3 percent from the previous week but down 0.9 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Adjusted year-to-date production through Dec. 14 totaled 92,584,000 net tons at an average mill utilization of 80.1 percent–up 1.8 percent from 2018 when the year-to-date utilization rate was 78.2 percent.

Following is production by district for the Dec. 14 week: North East: 212,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 681,000 net tons; Midwest, 192,000 net tons; South, 669,000 net tons; and West, 90,000 net tons, for a total of 1,844,000 tons. Production for the week decreased in the Northeast and Midwest, but increased in the Great Lakes, South and West.

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 fourth-quarter 2019 is approximately 30.4 million tons, compared to 30.8 million tons for the same period last year and 30.6 million tons for third-quarter 2019. Year-to-date totals are adjusted for consistency with monthly data.