Steel Products Prices North America
May 26, 2020
Weekly Steel Production Sees Small Uptick
Written by Tim Triplett
Mill utilization by domestic steelmakers improved slightly in the week ending May 23 as steel production totaled 1,191,000 net tons with the mills operating at an average rate of 53.2 percent. Production was up 0.8 percent from the prior week when the utilization rate was 52.7 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. While still down dramatically from capacity utilization above 80 percent prior to the coronavirus shutdowns, steel production has remained steady in the low 50s for the past month. That may change in June, for better or worse, as the mills begin to bring additional capacity online in anticipation of greater demand as government eases restrictions on commerce.
Adjusted year-to-date production through May 23 totaled 33,231,000 net tons at an average utilization rate of 70.3 percent–down 14.7 percent from production in the same period last year when the average utilization rate was 81.4 percent.
