Steel Products Prices North America
September 18, 2018
Weekly Raw Steel Production: Utilization Dips Back Below 80 Percent
Written by Brett Linton
U.S. raw steel production slipped by a slight 0.9 percent last week, nudging the mill capability utilization rate back below 80 percent once again. The American Iron and Steel Institute reported an average utilization rate for the week ending Sept. 15 of 79.4 percent, down from the 80.2 percent level in the prior week. But steel production remains near the 80 percent benchmark desired by the industry, and some flat rolled mills report operating rates in excess of 90 percent of their capacity.
Raw steel production for the Sept. 15 week totaled 1,862,000 net tons, up 8.8 percent from the 1,711,000 tons produced in the same period last year, when capacity utilization was at 73.4 percent.
