AISI: Weekly Raw Steel Production, Utilization Dip Back Down

Capability utilization was 73% last week — down 0.7 percentage points from 73.7% the previous week and down 9.8 percentage points from the same period one year ago when the rate was 82.8%. Capability utilization has now been below the 80% mark for 19 straight weeks.

Adjusted year-to-date production through Nov. 19 now stands at 79,620,000 tons, with an overall utilization rate of 78.7%. Production was 5.1% below the same period last year when it was 83,877,000 tons and capability utilization was at 81.3%, AISI said.

Output declined in three out of the five regions last week: The Great Lakes (-12,000 tons, or -2.2%), the South (-7,000 tons, or -1%), and the Northeast (-2,000 tons, or -1.4%). Production rose in the West (+3,000 tons, or +4.3%) and the Midwest (+1,000 tons, or +0.5%).

Production by region for the week ending Nov. 19 was as follows: Northeast, 141,000 tons; Great Lakes, 524,000 tons; Midwest, 188,000 tons; South, 702,000 tons; and West, 73,000 tons — for a total of 1,628,000 tons, down by 17,000 tons from the prior week.

Note: The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production tonnage provided by approximately 50% of the domestic production capacity combined with the most recent monthly production data for the remainder. Therefore, this report should be used primarily to assess production trends. The AISI production report “AIS 7,” published monthly and available by subscription, provides a more detailed summary of steel production based on data supplied by companies representing 75% of US production capacity.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com