US raw steel production slips in early June

While U.S. raw steel production saw week-over-week gains in the second half of May, the first week of June saw a slight contraction, according to figures from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), Washington.

In the week ending June 6, domestic raw steel production was approximately 1.195 million net tons, while the capability utilization rate was 53.3 percent. That compares with 1.87 million tons of production in the week ending June 6, 2019, at a capability utilization rate of 80.2 percent. The current week production represents a 36 percent decrease from the same period in the previous year, AISI says, and a 0.9 percent decrease from the week ending May 30 this year. For the last week of May of this year, production was 1,206,000 net tons, and the rate of capability utilization was 53.8 percent.

 Adjusted year-to-date production through June 6 was 35.49 million net tons, at a capability utilization rate of 68.6 percent. That is down 16.9 percent from the 42.72 million net tons produced during the same period last year, when the capability utilization rate was 81.4 percent. The declines in production this year are in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced manufacturing and construction activity in the U.S. from mid-March.

The southern region of the U.S. led production for the week ending June 6 at 500,000 tons. It was followed by the Great Lakes region at 411,000 tons, the Northeast at 113,000 tons and the West at 54,000 tons.