The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has reported that US raw steel production declined last week (ended September 25), with output decreasing by 0.2 percent from the previous week. In the week ending September 18, US raw steel production had dropped by 1.8 percent compared to the previous week.
Total raw steel production in the United States last week amounted to 1,712,000 net tons (nt), according to AISI. This figure represents a decrease of 0.2 percent from the 1,714,000 nt produced in the prior week (ended September 18, 2010) but is up 15.2 percent from the 1,486,000 nt produced in the same week of last year.
Percent capability utilization of US raw steelmaking facilities was 70.8 percent in the week ended September 25, 2010, compared to 70.9 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 65,479,000 nt on September 25, 2010, which reflects a 49.8 percent rise in output from the 43,728,000 nt produced in the same period of last year. Year-to-date percent capability utilization as of September 25 was reported as 70.7 percent, which is up from the 48 percent YTD capability utilization rate for the same period of 2009.