US crude steel output climbs 2.5 percent

Raw steel production by US steelmakers climbed by 2.5 percent last week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Monday that total raw steel production in the United States for the week ended June 27 amounted to approximately 1,161,000 net tons (nt), which is up 2.5 percent from the reported 1,133,000 nt produced in the week ended June 20, 2009. However, compared to the same week of last year, US crude steel output was down 46.1 percent in the week ended June 27, 2009.

Percent capability utilization of US raw steelmaking facilities was 48.7 percent in the week ended June 27, 2009, compared to 47.5 percent in the prior week, and 90.3 percent in the same week of last year.

The AISI reports that year-to-date, US raw steel production totaled 26,518,000 nt as of June 27, 2009, which reflects a 51.8 percent reduction in output from the same period of last year. Year-to-date percent capability utilization as of June 27 was reported as 43.7 percent, which is down from the 90.5 percent YTD capability utilization rate for the same period of 2008.