US steel production continues to increase

As reported this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), during the week ended February 5, 2007, raw steel production in the US increased by 2.3 percent to 1.965 million net tons (nt). The previous week's numbers showed 1.919 million nt of raw steel produced by the US. Steel production for the week ended February 5, 2007 was down 5.7 percent from the 2.078 million net tons produced the same week of last year. The Southern district produced the most raw steel for the week ended February 5, 2007, totaling 641,000 nt, followed by the Indiana/Chicago district which recorded an output of 494,000 nt. The district that produced the least raw steel was the Lake Erie district, with just 83,000 nt. Year-to-date net tonnage as of February 5, 2007 registered at 9.5 million nt with mills working at an average capability utilization rate of 81.1 percent. This compares to YTD net tonnage of 10.1 million nt on February 5, 2006 with an average capability utilization rate of 85.6 percent.