Prices
Mills Keep Capacity Utilization Over 80 Percent for the Year
Written by Tim Triplett
January 2, 2020
Domestic steelmakers finished 2019 strong and managed to keep the average mill capability utilization above the desired 80 percent rate for the year. Mill utilization increased to 81.1 percent in the week ending Dec. 28, the last full week of the year. Raw steel production totaled 1,876,000 net tons, up 0.5 percent from the previous week and up 0.8 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Adjusted year-to-date production through Dec. 28 totaled 96,326,000 net tons at an average mill utilization of 80.2 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. 28 week: North East: 223,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 704,000 net tons; Midwest, 197,000 net tons; South, 664,000 net tons; and West, 88,000 net tons, for a total of 1,876,000 tons. Production for the week was flat or up in every region except the South, where output decreased by 4.5 percent following a similar increase in the prior week.
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.
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Prices
Final Thoughts
Most steel buyers think that steel prices will continue to rise into the 2026. But they don’t see the kinds of big gains that have characterized past market upturns, according to the results of SMU’s latest steel market survey.
SMU Survey: Mills less negotiable on spot prices
Most steel buyers responding to our market survey this week reported that domestic mills are considerably less willing to talk price on sheet and plate products than they were in recent weeks.
Price gap between US HRC, most imports narrows slightly
In dollar-per-ton terms, US product is on average $141/st less than landed import prices (inclusive of the 50% tariff). That’s down from $148/st last week.
SMU price ranges: Sheet ticks higher, plate stable
Sheet steel indices increased across the board this week, while plate prices held steady. All five of SMU’s price indices are higher than they were two weeks ago, and all but one are above levels recorded four weeks ago.
Nucor lifts HR spot price by $10/ton
Nucor has raised its weekly spot list price on hot-rolled coil by $10 per short ton (st) after keeping it unchanged since Aug. 25.