U.S. Raw Steel Production Surged 5%; YTD Output Up 3.6%

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The U.S. raw steel production reported notable increase during the week ended August 11, 2018. This is upon comparison with the corresponding week a year before. Also, the production edged higher from the prior week. The domestic steel production in the country has seen significant ramp up ever since the imposition of tariffs on imports from foreign countries. Correspondingly, the steel import volumes have seen notable decline.

The U.S. domestic raw steel production totaled 1.855 million net tons (NT) in the week ending on August 11, 2018. The production represented marginal increase by 1.5% when compared with the production during the prior week. The U.S. steel output had totaled 1.828 million NT in the previous week ending August 4, 2018. When compared with the corresponding week last year, the output was up significantly by 5.0%. The U.S. output had totaled only 1.767 million NT in the week ending August 11, 2017.

The capability utilization rate of U.S. mills registered notable increase when compared with the previous year. During the week ending August 11, 2018, the U.S. steel mills reported capability utilization rate of 79.1%. The capability utilization during the corresponding week last year was 75.8%. The capability utilization rates stood higher over 78% during the prior week.

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The steel production during the year-to-date period totaled 57.271 million NT, at a capability utilization rate of 76.9%. During the similar period in 2017, the production had totaled 55.289 million NT. The year-to-date production recorded an increase by 3.6% in 2018. The capability utilization too stood higher from 74.6% during the previous year.

According to AISI, steel mills in the Great Lakes region produced 681,000 tons of metal during the week ended August 11, 2018. The weekly production by other regions was as follows: North East (223,000 tons), Midwest (192,000 tons), Southern (676,000 tons) and Western (83,000 tons).