US weekly steel production up 38% from a year ago

US raw steel production totaled 1.87 million st the week ended July 24 with a capability utilization rate of 84.6%. That was up 38.4% from 1.35 million st produced in the same week a year ago when the utilization rate was 60.3%. Last week's production was up 0.5% from the previous week, ended July 17, when production was 1.86 million st and the rate of capability utilization was 84.1%, according to American Iron and Steel Institute estimates.

Adjusted year-to-date production through July 24 was 52.7 million st at a capability utilization rate of 79.8%, up 18.4% from the 44.5 million st produced during the same period last year, when the capability utilization rate was 66.7%.

Broken down by districts, last week's production totaled 149,000 st in the North East, 642,000 st in the Great Lakes region, 200,000 st in the Midwest, 802,000 st in the South and 75,000 st in the West.