Steel Products Prices North America
July 7, 2020
Raw Steel Production Increases for Fourth Week in a Row
Written by Tim Triplett
Perhaps a reflection of an improving economy, steel production moved up for the fourth week in a row to a total of 1,268,000 net tons in the period ending July 4 with the mills operating at an average utilization rate of 56.6 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Production was up 2.3 percent from the prior week when the utilization rate was 55.4 percent. While improved, the current week’s production still represents a 31.6 percent decrease from the same week last year when the market was healthy and the coronavirus pandemic unimaginable.
Adjusted year-to-date production through July 4 totaled 40,638,000 net tons at an average utilization rate of 67.0 percent. That’s down 19 percent from the same period last year when the utilization rate was 81.2 percent.
