U.S. Steel Sector Capacity Utilization Surged

The U.S. raw steel production totalled 1.428 million net tons in the week ending September 5, 2020. The capability utilization rate was 63.7%, higher by 2% from the prior week, said the weekly steel industry data published by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

The estimated production tonnage for the most recent week represents a decline of 21.2% from the corresponding week a year before. The production had totalled 1.813 million net tons in the week ending September 5, 2019, at a capability utilization rate of 78.0%. The current week production compares with the production of 1.383 million net tons at a rate of capacity utilization of 61.7% during the prior week. The production was up marginally by 3.3% over the prior week, AISI data said.

According to AISI, the adjusted year-to-date production through September 5, 2020 totalled 53.269 million net tons, which is down sharply by 20.2% from the previous year. The capability utilization rate during this period averaged at 65.9%. The raw steel production had totalled 66.730 million net tons at an average capability utilization rate of 80.6% during the comparable period last year.

The Southern region topped the production chart with an output of 558,000 net tons, followed by Great Lakes region with 503,000 net tons. The output (in net tons) by other regions is as follows: North East (138,000), Midwest (157,000) and Western (72,000).