Steel Products Prices North America
March 12, 2019
Weekly Mill Utilization Hits 10-Year High of 83.4 Percent
Written by Tim Triplett
U.S. steel mills continued to raise the productivity bar, reaching an average capability utilization rate of 83.4 percent in the week ending March 9. Domestic raw steel production for the week totaled 1,941,000 net tons, up 0.7 percent from the prior week and 6.3 percent from the same period last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.
To put that in historical perspective, this is the highest capacity utilization rate seen in over 10 years, since the week ending Sept. 20, 2008, when 2,027,000 tons were produced at a rate of 85.0 percent. This is the highest weekly production seen in nearly seven years, since the week ending May 24, 2012, when 1,961,000 tons were produced at a capacity utilization rate of 79.4 percent.
