US domestic raw steel production takes a slight dive

As reported this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), during the week ended November 18, 2006, raw steel production in the US dropped by 4.6 percent to 1.782 million net tons (nt). The US raw steel production figure for the week in question was down 11.4 percent from the 2.013 million net tons produced during the corresponding week last year. The raw steel production numbers for the week ended November 11 this year had indicated a total of 1.868 million nt. The Southern district produced the most raw steel for the week ended November 18, 2006, with a total of 540,000 nt, followed by the Indiana/Chicago district, with 460,000 nt. The district that produced the least raw steel was the Lake Erie district, with 84,000 nt. Year-to-date net tonnage produced as of November 18 was 94.2 million nt, compared to YTD net tonnage of 90.7 million nt on November 18, 2005.