The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported this week that raw steel production in the United States during the week ended October 4, 2008 decreased by 2.3 percent from the previous week, to 1.942 million net tons.
Year-to-date, though, AISI's data show an increase of 1.9 percent in US steel production as of October 4, 2008 when compared to the same period of the previous year. YTD October 4, 2008, raw steel production in the US totaled 83.5 million net tons.
Percent capability utilization of US mills (based on tonnage capability to produce raw steel for a sustained full order book), YTD through October 4, was 88.2 percent, compared to 86.4 percent in the same period of last year.
AISI's weekly raw steel production report is estimated based on a sampling of steel producers. The "raw steel" described is steel in the first solid state after melting suitable for further processing or sale, including ingots, steel for castings and strand or pressure cast blooms, slabs or other product forms.