Trade Cases

Raw Steel Production Edges Up 0.9%: AISI
Written by David Schollaert
June 26, 2023
Raw steel production by US mills moved higher again last week, gaining ground for the second straight week, according to data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) on Monday, June 26.
Domestic production stood at 1,758,000 net tons during the week ended June 24, up 0.9% from 1,743,000 tons the previous week. Production is up 1.2% from the same period last year, when output was 1,738,000 tons.
The mill capability utilization rate was 78.1% last week, up from 77.5% a week earlier. Usage is down, however, from the same week of 2022 when the rate was 79.6%.
AISI said that adjusted year-to-date production through June 24 was 42,486,000 tons at a capability utilization rate of 75.8%. This is down 2.9% from the year-ago period when 43,743,000 tons were produced with an overall capability utilization rate of 80.3%.
Production by region for the week ending June 24 is below. (Note: week-over-week changes are in parentheses.)
- Northeast – 140,000 tons (down 2,000 tons)
- Great Lakes – 571,000 tons (up 7,000 tons)
- Midwest – 216,000 tons (up 2,000 tons)
- South – 766,000 tons (up 6,000 tons)
- West – 65,000 tons (up 2,000 tons)
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 David Schollaert, david@steelmarketupdate.com

David Schollaert
Read more from David SchollaertLatest in Trade Cases

Mills allege ‘critical circumstances’ in CORE trade case vs. South Africa, UAE
"Recent activity in the marketplace strongly indicates that these imports are being rushed into the United States in an effort to avoid the imposition of antidumping duties," petitioners said.

European Commission eyes retaliation vs. Trump steel tariffs: Report
The European Commission is looking into making current quotas on steel imports stricter as a countermeasure to President Trump’s recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the US, according to an article in Reuters.

Trump could levy tariffs on auto imports in April: Report
President Donald Trump said last week that he could place tariffs on auto imports, according to an article in Politico.

Section 232 tariffs are headed downstream
The Trump administration has revealed the list of derivative steel products being added to the Section 232 tariff list.

Leibowitz: In Trump’s brave new world of tariffs, what will stick and what will courts challenge?
With a chronic trade deficit, the administration will continue to cite more tariffs as necessary. This is in error, as noted above. Yet the base of President Trump’s support does not see it that way. More tariffs are possible. But the only way to reduce the US trade deficit substantially is to close the gap between savings and investment in the United States.