US raw steel production for the week ended July 11 rose by a rather significant 3.9 percent from the prior week, pushing percent capability utilization over 50 percent, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
AISI reported Monday that total raw steel production in the United States for the week ended July 11 amounted to approximately 1,213,000 net tons (nt), which is up slightly from the reported 1,168,000 nt produced in the week ended July 4, 2009. However, compared to the same week of last year, US crude steel output was down 42.8 percent in the week ended July 11, 2009.
Percent capability utilization of US raw steelmaking facilities rose to 50.9 percent in the week ended July 11, 2009, compared to 49.0 percent in the prior week, and 88.8 percent in the same week of last year.
The AISI reports that year-to-date, US raw steel production totaled 28,899,000 nt as of July 11, 2009, which reflects a 51.2 percent reduction in output from the same period of last year. Year-to-date percent capability utilization as of July 11 was reported as 44.4 percent, which is down from the 90.3 percent YTD capability utilization rate for the same period of 2008.