US raw steel production posts another slight gain

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported this week that US raw steel production rose by 1.9 percent last week (ended May 9), compared to the prior week, marking the second consecutive week of modest growth.

Although US raw steel production was down 53.0 percent last week compared to the same week of last year, last week and the week prior were the first two consecutive weeks since February in which US raw steel production levels rose.

Total raw steel production in the United States last week amounted to approximately 1,023,000 net tons (nt), according to the AISI, up from the reported 1,004,000 nt produced in the week ended May 2, 2009. US raw steel production for the corresponding week of 2008 totaled 2,173,000 nt.

Percent capability utilization of US raw steelmaking facilities was 42.9 percent in the week ended May 9, 2009, compared to 42.1 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 18,705,000 nt as of May 9, 2009, which reflects a 53.0 percent reduction in output from the 39,778,000 nt produced in the same period of last year. Year-to-date percent capability utilization as of May 9 was reported as 42.5 percent, which is down from the 90.6 percent YTD capability utilization rate for the same period of 2008.