US steel production slips 2.1 percent

As reported this week by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), raw steel production in the US dropped 2.1 percent to 2.043 million nt during the week ended April 21, 2007.
 
The previous week's numbers showed 2.087 million nt of raw steel produced by the US. Steel production for the week ended April 21, 2007 was down 6.6 percent from the 2.189 million net tons produced the same week of last year.
 
The Southern district produced the most raw steel for the week ended April 21, 2007, with a total output of 639,000 nt, followed by the Indiana/Chicago district with 522,000 nt.
 
Year-to-date net tonnage as of April 21, 2007 registered at 31.5 million nt with mills working at an average capability utilization rate of 83.9 percent. This compares to YTD net tonnage of 34.0 million nt on April 21, 2006, with an average capability utilization rate of 89.6 percent.