US raw steel production rises in week 1 of New Year

As reported this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), during the first week of the New Year, ended January 6, 2007, raw steel production in the US increased by 9.3 percent week on week to 1.792 million net tons (nt). The previous week's numbers showed 1.639 million nt of raw steel produced by the US. Steel production for the week ended January 6, 2007 was down 13.1 percent from the 2.064 million net tons produced the same week of last year. The Southern district produced the most raw steel for the week ended January 6, 2007, totaling 557,000 nt, followed by the Indiana/Chicago district with 448,000 nt. The district that produced the least raw steel was the Western district, with 76,000 nt. Year-to-date net tonnage so far this year as of January 6, 2007 registered at 1.792 million nt, with mills working at an average capacity utilization rate of 76.7 percent. This is lower than the YTD net tonnage of 2.064 million nt on January 6, 2006, when the average capacity utilization rate was 85.6 percent.