Domestic steel production slightly down

According to data released this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), raw steel production in the US dropped by 2.2 percent during the week ending July 15, 2006, totaling 2.037 million net tons (nt). The previous week's numbers were 2.083 nt, 2.2 percent greater than the amount of steel produced during the week ended July 15. In comparison with last year's numbers for the week ending July 15, raw steel production has increased by 14.2 percent. The Southern district produced the most raw steel for the week ending July 15, 2006, with 630,000 nt, followed by the Indiana/Chicago district producing 534,000 nt. The district that produced the least raw steel was the Lake Erie district, with 84,000 nt. Year-to-date net tonnage as of July 15 was 58.2 million nt, compared to YTD net tonnage of 55.5 million nt on July 15, 2005.