US domestic steel production up 1.6 percent

According to data released this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the US produced 2.083 million net tons (nt) of raw steel during the week ending August 19, 2006. The amount of steel produced during the week ending August 19, 2006 registered a 1.6 percent increase from the previous week, during which 2.049 million nt were produced, and a 10.7 percent increase from the same week the previous year, in which 1.880 million nt were produced. Steel shipments for June are also up from last year. An 18.3 percent increase in tonnage has been reported when comparing June 2005 and June 2006 shipments. US steel mills shipped 9,739,000 nt of steel in June 2006, a significant increase from the 8,229,000 nt shipped in June 2005. Year-to-date net tonnage of raw steel produced as of August 19 was 68.5 million nt, compared to YTD net tonnage of 64.7 million nt on August 19, 2005. The districts that produced the most raw steel during the week ending August 19, 2006 were the Southern district, which produced 644,000 nt, and the Indiana/Chicago district, which produced 522,000 nt.