Late April/early May US steel production drops

Late April/early May US steel production drops

US steel producers showed a weekly drop in output compared to a year ago. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), domestic steelmakers produced about 2.03 million net tons for the week ending May 7, a drop of 1.3% from the 2.057 million net tons produced during the same period in 2004. In week-on-week terms the production represents a 5.4% drop from 2.145 million net tons. Production figures indicated that these companies were operating at 88.7% of capacity, a drop from 91.2% for the same period in 2004. In the Pittsburgh/Youngstown, Ohio district, production dropped 10’000 net tons from 256’000 net tons the week before. The Northwest Indiana/Chicago area reported that the week ending April 30 saw an overall drop in production of 33’000 net tons from 528’000 net tons the prior week. Year-to-date numbers indicate that US mills have produced 37 million tons, a small decline from 2004’s 37.2 million tons.