Steel Mills

AISI: Raw steel output moves up again

Written by David Schollaert

June 3, 2024

Raw steel production in the US moved higher for a fifth straight week, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported on Monday.

AISI said US mills, operating at 78.5% of capabilities, produced an estimated 1,743,000 short tons (st) of raw steel in the week ended June 1.

This was a 0.5% rise from the prior week’s output of 1,735,000 st when the utilization rate was 78.1%, and the highest weekly production rate since early April.

However, output was down 0.5% from the same time last year, AISI said.

Weekly production by region is shown below, with the weekly changes noted in parentheses:

  • Northeast: 136,000 st (-2,000)
  • Great Lakes: 551,000 st (-4,000)
  • Midwest: 208,000 st (-3,000)
  • South: 779,000 st (+17,000)
  • West: 69,000 st (unchanged)

Year-to-date production now stands at 37.180,000 st with a capability utilization rate of 76.6%. Output is down 2.6% from the same 2023 period when overall utilization was 77.9%.

Editor’s note: The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated and should be used primarily to assess production trends. The monthly AISI “AIS 7” report is available by subscription and provides a more detailed summary of domestic steel production.

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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