US raw steel production hit 1.87mn nt with a capability utilization rate of 80.7pc for the week ending Dec 21, 2019, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). During the same week, raw steel production in the US totalled 1.86mn nt, with a capability utilization rate of 79.4pc. Compared to the same seven-day period one year ago, production has risen 0.3pc.
Steel production rose 1.2pc, compared to the week ending Dec 14, 2019, to 1.84mn nt, with a capability utilization rate of 79.7pc during the week reviewed.
The US produced 94.45mn nt of raw steel between Jan 1, 2019 and Dec 21, 2019 at a capability utilization rate of 80.1pc. US raw steel production increased 1.8pc from 92.78mn nt produced during the same span of time in 2018, when the capability utilization rate was 78.2pc.
The Southern region produced 695,000nt of raw steel, followed by the Great Lakes at 681,000nt, the Northeast at 207,000nt, the Midwest at 194,000nt, and the Western region at 89,000nt. The combined regional production stood at 1,866,000nt during the week ending Dec 21, 2019.
The raw steel production tonnage provided in the AISI report is estimated by combing figures provided by 50pc of US producers with monthly production data to ascertain the remainder.