Steel Products

Raw Steel Utilization Reaches 75.4%: AISI

Written by David Schollaert

March 20, 2023

Raw steel production by US mills rose 0.5% last week from the week prior, according to data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) on Monday, March 20.

Domestic production stood at 1,686,000 net tons in the week ended March 18 vs. 1,677,000 net tons the previous week. It was off 1.4% from 1,710,000 net tons in the same week last year.

The capability utilization rate was 75.4% last week, up from 75% a week earlier and pushing past the 75% mark for the first time since the week of Oct. 8, 2022. Capability utilization was still down from 78.7% in the same week last year.

AISI said that adjusted year-to-date production through March 18 was 18,199,000 net tons at a capability utilization rate of 74%. This is down 4.7% from the 19,104,000 net tons produced during the same period last year, when the capability utilization rate stood at 79.7%.

Production by region for the week ending March 11 is below. (Note: week-over-week change is in parentheses.)

  • Northeast, 149,000 tons (up 1,000 tons)
  • Great Lakes, 557,000 tons (up 10,000 tons)
  • Midwest, 207,000 tons (down 3,000 tons)
  • South, 713,000 tons (up 9,000 tons)
  • West, 60,000 tons (down 8,000 tons)

WeeklyRawSteelProd Wk12

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

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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