Steel Products Prices North America
August 20, 2019
Steel Mill Utilization Dips Below 80 Percent
Written by Tim Triplett
Steel mill capacity utilization dipped below the 80 percent mark last week for the first time since early July, registering 79.8 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Production was down by 0.2 percent compared with the same period last year–the first time this year that weekly production was below 2018 levels. Raw steel production for the week ending Aug. 17 totaled 1,857,000 net tons, a decrease of 0.5 percent from the previous week when the U.S. mill utilization rate averaged 80.2 percent.
Domestic steelmakers have produced 61,669,000 tons for the year to date, a 4.5 percent increase compared with the same period in 2018. Mill utilization has averaged 81.0 percent so far this year, up from 77.3 percent last year.
