US Steel Corp reported fourth quarter 2021 net earnings of $1.07 billion. This compares to fourth quarter 2020 net earnings of $49 million. Net sales in Q4 2021 totaled $5.62 billion, compared to $2.56 billion in Q4 2020.
Full-year 2021 net earnings was $4.17 billion. This compares to full-year 2020 net loss of $1.17 billion. Full-year 2021 net sales totaled $20.28 billion, compared to $9.74 billion in full-year 2020.
Total steel shipments in Q4 totaled 3.75 million net tons, compared to 3.17 million net tons in Q4 2020. Total steel shipments in 2021 were 15.9 million net tons, compared to 12.2 million net tons in 2020.
Flat-rolled capacity utilization totaled 51 percent in Q4 (compared to 58 percent in Q4 2020) and 58 percent for 2021 overall (compared to 55 percent in 2020). Tubular capacity utilization totaled 62 percent in Q4 (compared to 7 percent in Q4 2020) and 52 percent for 2021 (compared to 7 percent in 2020). Mini mill capacity utilization, a new metric this quarter, totaled 82 percent in Q4 and 81 percent for 2021 overall.
In a press release, President and CEO David B. Burritt said, “We enter 2022 from a position of strength and are relentlessly focused on continuing our disciplined approach to creating stockholder value. Our balance sheet has been transformed, record cash significantly de-risks strategy execution, and our capital allocation priorities have enhanced direct stockholder returns. We are a fundamentally different company from a year ago and expect 2022 to be another strong year.”