US steel production slightly up

As was reported this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), during the week ended March 10, 2007, raw steel production in the US increased by 1.8 percent from the previous week, rising to 2.017 million net tons (nt). The previous week's numbers showed 1.981 million nt of raw steel produced by the US. Steel production for the week ended March 10, 2007 was down 8.5 percent from the 2.206 million net tons produced the same week of last year. The Southern district produced the most raw steel for the week ended March 10, 2007, with a total output of 624,000 nt, followed by the Indiana/Chicago district with 511,000 nt. The district that produced the least raw steel was the Western district, with 89,000 nt. Year-to-date net tonnage as of March 10, 2007 registered at 19.3 million nt, with mills working at an average capability utilization rate of 82.7 percent. This compares to YTD net tonnage of 20.8 million nt on March 10, 2006, with an average capability utilization rate of 89.1 percent.