Steelmakers in US maintain steady output

Steelmakers in the United States closed out 2025 having made more steel than the previous year and have sustained positive production momentum into the new year, according to the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

The organization, which tracks output at the nation’s crude steel melt shops, reports that U.S. mills made more than 89.3 million tons of steel in 2025 through the week ending Dec. 27, 2025, the last full production week in its tracking schedule. That total is up 3.4 percent compared with the approximately 86.4 million tons made in the same time frame in 2024.

In 2025, mills operated at an average 76.7 percent capability utilization (capacity) rate, marking an increase from the average 75.4 percent rate in 2024.

December 2025 U.S. electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill tracking undertaken by Navigate Commodities indicates the recycled steel sector appeared to be carrying its output momentum through the holiday season and into the new year.

AISI statistics for the week ending Jan. 3 portray the same strength, with the organization reporting raw steel production of more than 1.7 million tons that week. That weekly figure represents a 0.5 percent rise in output compared with the previous week and is 1.4 percent higher compared with the 1.68 million tons of steel made in U.S. melt shops in the week ending Jan. 3, 2025.

Mills have started the new year at a 74.4 percent capacity rate, according to AISI, which is down from 75.6 percent one year earlier, possibly because of added EAF capacity in the U.S.

The steady domestic steel production figures have placed some upward pressure on the value of recycled steel,  with prices rising by about $20 per ton in December and buyers and sellers currently negotiating January prices that may include a further increase.