US raw steel output down 54% y-o-y

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Tuesday that US raw steel production declined by another 1.5 percent last week (ended April 25), compared to the prior week, and was down 54.4 percent compared to the same week of 2008.

Total raw steel production in the United States last week amounted to approximately 984,000 net tons (nt), according to the AISI, down from the reported 999,000 nt produced in the week ended April 18, 2009. US raw steel production for the corresponding week of 2008 totaled 2,154,000 nt.

Percent capability utilization of US raw steelmaking facilities was 41.2 percent in the week ended April 25, 2009, compared to 41.9 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 16,678,000 nt as of April 25, 2009, which reflects a 53.0 percent reduction in output from the 35,451,000 nt produced in the same period of last year. Year-to-date percent capability utilization as of April 25 was reported as 42.6 percent, which is down from the 90.5 percent YTD capability utilization rate for the same period of 2008.