In the week ending May 1, 2010, domestic raw steel production was 1,754,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 72.5 percent. Production was 984,000 tons in the week ending May 1, 2009, while the capability utilization then was 41.1 percent. The current week production represents a 78.3 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending May 1, 2010 is down 0.6 percent from the previous week ending April 24, 2010 when production was 1,764,000 tons and the rate of capability utilization was 72.9 percent.
Adjusted year-to-date production through May 1, 2010 was 28,837,000 tons, at a capability utilization rate of 69.0 percent. That is a 65.3 percent increase from the 17,445,000 tons during the same period last year, when the capability utilization rate was 42.4 percent.
Broken down by districts, here's production for the week ending May 1, 2010 in thousands of net tons: Northeast Coast: 141; Pittsburgh/Youngstown: 112; Lake Erie: 47; Detroit: 136; Indiana/Chicago: 483; Midwest: 218; Southern: 539 and Western: 78.