US steel production continues to increase

As reported this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), during the week ended January 20, 2007, raw steel production in the US increased by 1.9 percent to 1.918 million net tons (nt). The previous week's numbers showed 1.881 million nt of raw steel produced by the US. Steel production for the week ended January 20, 2007 was down 4.7 percent from the 2.014 million net tons produced the same week of last year. The Southern district produced the most raw steel for the week ended January 20, 2007, totaling 637,000 nt, followed by the Indiana/Chicago district with 466,000 nt. The district that produced the least raw steel was the Western district, which registered 81,000 nt. Year-to-date net tonnage as of January 20, 2007 amounted to 5.6 million nt, with mills working at an average capability utilization rate of 79.7 percent. This compares with YTD net tonnage of 6.0 million nt on January 20, 2006, with an average capability utilization rate of 85.6 percent.