Steel Products Prices North America

Raw Steel Output Down 1%: AISI

Written by Becca Moczygemba

July 5, 2023

Raw steel production by US mills dropped last week after two consecutive weekly increases, according to data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) on Wednesday, July 5.

Domestic production stood at 1,740,000 net tons during the week ended July 1, down 1% from 1,758,000 tons the previous week. Production is up 0.3% from the same period last year when output was 1,735,000 tons.

The mill capability utilization rate was 77.3% last week, down from 78.1% a week earlier. Usage is also down from the same week of 2022 when the rate was 79.4%.

AISI said that adjusted year-to-date production through July 1 was 44,194,000 tons at a capability utilization rate of 75.8%. This is down 2.8% from the year-ago period when 45,478,000 tons were produced with an overall capability utilization rate of 80.3%.

Production by region for the week ending July 1 is below. (Note: week-over-week changes are in parentheses.)

  • Northeast – 137,000 tons (down 3,000 tons)
  • Great Lakes – 563,000 tons (down 8,000 tons)
  • Midwest – 215,000 tons (down 1,000 tons)
  • South – 758,000 tons (down 8,000 tons)
  • West – 67,000 tons (up 2,000 tons)

RawSteel 0705 1.1

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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