US domestic steel production up again

As was reported this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), during the week ended January 13, 2007, raw steel production in the US increased by 4.9 percent to 1.881 million net tons (nt). The previous week's numbers showed 1.792 million nt of raw steel produced by the US. Steel production for the week ended January 13, 2007 was down 9.4 percent from the 2.077 million net tons produced the same week of last year. The Southern district produced the most raw steel for the week ended January 13, 2007, recording a total of 596,000 nt, followed by the Indiana/Chicago district which produced 478,000 nt. The district that produced the least raw steel was the Lake Erie district, with 83,000 nt. Year-to-date net tonnage as of January 13, 2007 registered at 3.673 million nt with mills working at an average capability utilization rate of 78.6 percent, compared to YTD net tonnage of 4.141 million nt on January 13, 2006 with an average capability utilization rate of 85.6 percent.