Steel Products Prices North America

Weekly Steel Production Sees Another Small Gain

Written by David Schollaert

November 24, 2020

Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,582,000 net tons in the week ending Nov. 21. The operating rate was a fraction higher than the prior week at 71.5 percent. Despite the steady increase in production through much of 2020, the latest week’s output remains 13.2 percent behind the same week last year when the operating rate was 78.8 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Adjusted year-to-date production through Nov. 21 totaled 70,541,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 67.0 percent. That is down 18.8 percent from the same period last year, when the utilization rate was 80.0 percent, AISI said.

Following is production by district for the Nov. 21 week: North East: 136,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 541,000 net tons; Midwest, 170,000 net tons; South, 665,000 net tons; and West, 70,000 net tons for a total of 1,582,000 and a net increase of 2,000 tons. The bright spot this past week was the Southern region, which saw an increase of 38,000 net tons week on week. The remaining four regions were down, however, by a combined 36,000 net tons compared with the week prior.

Note: 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. Capability for fourth-quarter 2020 is approximately 29.1 million tons, compared to 30.4 million tons for the same period last year and 29.4 million tons for the second quarter of 2020.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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