US raw steel output inches up for another week

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Monday that US raw steel production rose by 1.0 percent last week (ended May 30), compared to the prior week. Last week marked the fifth consecutive week during which US raw steel production increased from the preceding week.

Total raw steel production in the United States for the week ended May 30 amounted to approximately 1,103,000 net tons (nt), according to the AISI, up from the reported 1,093,000 nt produced in the week ended May 23, 2009. US raw steel production for the corresponding week of 2008 totaled 2,173,000 nt, which is 49.3 percent more than last week’s output.

Percent capability utilization of US raw steelmaking facilities was 46.2 percent in the week ended May 30, 2009, compared to 45.8 percent in the prior week, and 91.1 percent in the same week of last year.

The AISI reports that year-to-date US raw steel production totaled 21,961,000 nt as of May 30, 2009, which reflects a 52.6 percent reduction in output from the 46,297,000 nt produced in the same period of last year. Year-to-date percent capability utilization as of May 30 was reported as 43.0 percent, which is down from the 90.6 percent YTD capability utilization rate for the same period of 2008.