As reported this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), during the first week of the New Year, the week ended January 5, 2008, raw steel production in the US decreased by 0.6 percent from the previous week to 2.027 million net tons (nt); however, the figure is up when compared to the same week of the previous year and year-to-date.
The previous week's numbers showed 2.041 million nt of raw steel produced by the US. Steel production for the week ended January 5, 2008 was up 7.9 percent from the 1.877 million net tons produced the same week of last year.
The Southern district produced the most raw steel for the week ended January 5, 2008, with a total of 586,000 nt, followed by the Indiana/Chicago district with 540,000 nt.
Year-to-date net tonnage so far for the start of the New Year as of January 5, 2008 registered at 2.027 million nt with mills working at an average capability utilization rate of 85.0 percent. This compares to YTD net tonnage of 1.877 million nt on January 5, 2007 with an average capability utilization rate of 78.2 percent.