The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has reported that US raw steel production declined last week (ended September 18), with output decreasing by 1.8 percent from the previous week.
Total raw steel production in the United States last week amounted to approximately 1,714,000 net tons (nt), according to AISI. This figure represents a decrease of 1.8 percent from the 1,744,000 nt produced in the prior week (ended February 11, 2010) but is up 15.4 percent from the 1,486,000 nt produced in the same week of last year.
Percent capability utilization of US raw steelmaking facilities was 70.9 percent in the week ended September 18, 2010, compared to 72.1 percent in the prior week and to 62.1 percent in the same week of last year.
Year-to-date, AISI reported, US raw steel production totaled 63,767,000 nt on September 18, 2010, which reflects a 51 percent rise in output from the 42,242,000 nt produced in the same period of last year. Year-to-date percent capability utilization as of September 18 was reported as 70.7 percent, which is up from the 51 percent YTD capability utilization rate for the same period of 2009.