Steel Products Prices North America
September 28, 2020
Raw Steel Production Jumps 2.4 Percent
Written by Tim Triplett
Raw steel production by U.S. mills jumped by 2.4 percent in the week ending Sept. 26 to 1,480,000 net tons, following a small dip in the previous week. The operating rate last week hit 66.1 percent, up from 64.5 percent in the prior week. The last time production topped 66 percent of the mills’ capability was 25 weeks ago, in the week ending April 4, 2020, when 1,534,000 tons were produced at a rate of 68.5 percent. Compared with the same week last year, however, production was still down by 17.8 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Adjusted year-to-date production through Sept. 26 totaled 57,654,000 net tons at an average utilization rate of 65.8 percent. That’s down 20.1 percent from the same period last year when the utilization rate was 80.3 percent, AISI said.
