Steel Products Prices North America
June 8, 2021
Weekly Mill Utilization Keeps Momentum
Written by David Schollaert
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,840,000 net tons in the week ended June 5, up 0.2% compared to the week prior when production totaled 1,836,000 net tons, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The mill utilization rate last week averaged 82.3%, up from 81.5% the week before and up 46.3% from the same period last year when production was 1,258,000 net tons and mill utilization was just 56.2% due to pandemic-driven disruptions.
For the second consecutive week since COVID-19 restricted U.S. steel production in mid-March 2020, output and mill utilization are back to pre-pandemic levels, according the data compiled by AISI. Mill utilization have remained above the 80.0% mark last seen in the week ended March 14, 2020. When comparing the latest data to the same pre-COVID-19 period in 2019, current production is down just 1.9%.
