Raw Steel Production Up 1.4% Last Week

Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,799,000 in the week ending May 15, up 1.4% compared to the week prior when production totaled 1,774,000 net tons, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The mill utilization rate last week averaged 79.2%, up from 78.1% the week before and up 47.1% from the same period last year when production was 1,223,000 net tons and mill utilization was just 54.6% due to COVID-induced disruptions.

According the data compiled by AISI, the market is still lagging pre-pandemic levels. When comparing the latest data to the comparable pre-COVID-19 period in 2019, current production is down 5.3%, more than 100,000 net tons. Adjusted year-to-date production through May 15 was 33,888,000 net tons, at an average utilization rate of 77.5%. That’s up 7.3% from the same period last year when the utilization rate was 69.9% and production was 31,588,000 net tons, AISI said.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief 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. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

David Schollaert

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