US raw steel production on the rise for sixth straight week

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported Tuesday that US raw steel production rose by 1.9 percent last week (ended June 6), compared to the prior week. Last week marked the sixth 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 June 6 amounted to approximately 1,124,000 net tons (nt), according to the AISI, up from the reported 1,103,000 nt produced in the week ended May 30, 2009. US raw steel production for the corresponding week of 2008 totaled 2,173,000 nt, which is 48.3 percent more than last week’s output.

Percent capability utilization of US raw steelmaking facilities was 47.1 percent in the week ended June 6, 2009, compared to 46.2 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 23,085,000 nt as of June 6, 2009, which reflects a 52.4 percent reduction in output from the same period of last year. Year-to-date percent capability utilization as of June 6 was reported as 43.1 percent, which is down from the 90.6 percent YTD capability utilization rate for the same period of 2008.