Steel Mills

AISI: Output remains low as raw steel production slips

Written by Brett Linton

December 2, 2024

The volume of raw steel produced by US mills slipped last week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Weekly production has hovered in this territory for the last two months and is at the sixth lowest rate of this year.

Total raw steel output was estimated at 1,638,000 short tons (st) in the week ending Nov. 30. Mill production declined by 17,000 st, or 1.0%, from the previous week. Recall that raw production fell to a 20-month low of 1,606,000 st in mid-October (Figure 1). 

Production last week was 3.9% lower than the year-to-date weekly average of 1,705,000 st. It is 2.9% less than the same week last year, when mill output totaled 1,687,000 st. 

Last week’s mill capability utilization rate was 73.8%. That’s down from the week prior (74.5%) but up from this time last year (73.4%).

Year-to-date production now totals 80,517,000 st at a capability utilization rate of 75.8%. This is 2.3% less than the same period of last year, when 82,422,000 st had been produced at a capability utilization rate of 76.1%.

Weekly production by region is as follows (weekly changes shown in parentheses):

  • Northeast – 127,000 st (up 2,000 st)
  • Great Lakes – 544,000 st (down 26,000 st)
  • Midwest – 227,000 st (up 14,000 st)
  • South – 690,000 st (down 4,000 st).
  • West – 50,000 st (down 3,000 st)

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.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

Read more from Brett Linton

Latest in Steel Mills

Leibowitz: Biden block of Nippon-USS deal has broad, mostly bad consequences

As one of my university professors once said (and it’s stuck with me for half a century), “Change is the only permanency.” On Friday, President Biden acted to block the acquisition of United States Steel by Nippon Steel Corp. of Japan, without acknowledging the changes that have already occurred in the steel industry, and which are likely to increase. After more than a year of raging debate, it seems that nobody was convinced by arguments. Nippon’s worker-centered concessions, including safeguarding the jobs of U.S. Steel’s unionized workers and committing to more than $2 billion in investments for the aging plants at Gary, Ind., and the Mon Valley complex in Pennsylvania, were not mentioned in the president’s announcement on Friday.