Steel Products Prices North America
April 28, 2020
Mill Capacity Utilization Dips Below 56 Percent
Written by Tim Triplett
After a brief pause, raw steel production continued to slide last week. Production in the April 25 week totaled 1,250,000 net tons with the mills operating at an average capability utilization rate of 55.8 percent, down 2.1 percent from the previous week, and down 33.9 percent from the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Capacity utilization among domestic steelmakers has plummeted from more than 82 percent in early March due to the coronavirus crisis.
Adjusted year-to-date production through April 25 totaled 28,850,000 net tons at an average utilization rate of 75.4 percent–down 8.3 percent from production in the same period last year when the average utilization rate was 81.5 percent.
