The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has reported that US raw steel production declined slightly last week (ended October 23) on week-on-week basis, with output increasing by nine percent from the same week of the previous year.
Total raw steel production in the United States last week amounted to approximately 1,624,000 net tons (nt), according to the AISI. This figure represents a decrease of 0.3 percent from the 1,629,000 nt produced in the prior week (ended October 16, 2010) but is up nine percent from the 1,491,000 nt produced in the same week of last year.
Percent capability utilization of US raw steelmaking facilities was 67.2 percent in the week ended October 23, 2010, compared to 67.4 percent in the prior week and to 62.3 percent in the same week of last year.
Year-to-date, the AISI reported, US raw steel production totaled 72,058,000 nt on October 23, 2010, which reflects a 45.1 percent rise in output from the 49,669,000 nt produced in the same period of last year. Year-to-date percent capability utilization was reported as 70.5 percent, which is up from the 45.1 percent YTD capability utilization rate for the same period of 2009.