Steel Products Prices North America

December U.S. Raw Steel Production at 8 Million Tons

Written by Brett Linton

February 10, 2020

U.S. raw steel production in December rose 2.9 percent to 8,037,650 net tons, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. December production was below the 2019 average of 8,061,679 tons and down 2.5 percent compared to the same month last year.

Broken down by production method, 5,682,920 tons (70.7 percent) were produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 2,354,730 tons (29.3 percent) were produced by blast furnaces.

December production was 224,725 tons higher than November, but 204,939 tons lower 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 December averaged 78.5 percent, down from 78.8 percent in November, and down from 79.4 percent one year ago. The yearly capacity utilization rate has been adjusted down to 79.8 percent, up from 78.2 percent compared to the same 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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