US raw steel production rises, reverses downward trend
US steel producers showed a weekly rise in total output. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) domestic steelmakers produced about 2.09 million net tons for the week ending May 21, a rise of 0.4% from 2.082 million net tons for the same period in 2004 and an increase of 6.1% from 1.969 million net tons from the previous week. In the Pittsburgh/Youngstown, Ohio region, production rose 4'000 net tons from 241'000 net tons the week before. Production figures indicated US steel mills operated at 90.7% capacities, a decline of 0.6% for the same period in 2004 but an increase of just over 4% from the previous week. Year-to-date numbers indicate that US mills have produced 41.1 million tons, a small decline from 2004's 41.3 million tons.