Steel Products Prices North America

Weekly Raw Steel Production Rises Again

Written by Becca Moczygemba

May 1, 2023

Raw steel production by US mills inched up again last week, rising 0.9% from the week before and moving higher for a fourth consecutive week, according to data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) on Monday, May 1.

Domestic steel production stood at 1,716,000 net tons during the week ended April 29 vs. 1,700,000 tons the previous week. Production was 4% lower than the same week of 2022 when 1,788,000 tons were produced.

The overall mill capability utilization rate was 76.3% last week, up from 75.6% a week earlier but down from 81.9% in the same week last year.

AISI said that adjusted year-to-date production through April 29 was 28,386,000 tons at a capability utilization rate of 74.6%. This is down 4.4% from the year-ago period when 29,687,000 tons were produced with an overall capability utilization rate of 80.3%.

Weekly output was higher in all regions except for the Northeast. Regional production for the week ending April 29 is shown below with week-over-week changes noted in parentheses:

  • Northeast – 147,000 tons (down 4,000 tons)
  • Great Lakes – 575,000 tons (up 4,000 tons)
  • Midwest – 220,000 tons (up 4,000 tons)
  • South – 707,000 tons (up 7,000 tons)
  • West – 67,000 tons (up 5,000 tons)

RawSteel 0429

Note: The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production tonnages 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 Becca Moczygemba, becca@steelmarketupdate.com

Becca Moczygemba

Becca Moczygemba is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has been in the steel industry since 2017, specializing in flat-rolled products. Prior to joining SMU, she held positions at Mitsui & Co. and Kloeckner Metals. Becca has a BA in Organizational/Corporate Communication from the University of Houston and an MBA from Norwich University. Contact Becca at becca@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1000.

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