Great Lakes steel output rises by 9,000 tons

19 June 2017

Great Lakes steel production rose slightly to 630,000 tons last week, an increase of 1.4 percent.

Steel mills in the Great Lakes region cranked out 621,000 tons of metal the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Most of the steel made in the Great Lakes region is produced in Lake and Porter counties in Northwest Indiana.

So far this year, U.S. steelmakers have produced 39.8 million tons of steel, about 2.6 percent more than they did during the same period in 2016. Steel mills have been running at a capacity of 74.4 percent so far this year, up from 72.6 percent through the same time last year.

Domestic steelmakers used about 73.7 percent of their steelmaking capacity in the week that ended June 10, down from 75 percent the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Some analysts say 90 percent would be considered healthy for the industry.

Steelmaking capacity utilization was 75.1 percent during the same time period in 2016.

Overall, U.S. national steel output dipped by 31,000 tons last week to 1.749 million tons, a 1.77 percent decreases, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Production in the Southern District, the country’s second-largest steel-producing region, which spans mini-mills across the South, fell to 623,000 tons last week, down  from 665,000 tons the previous week.

Source – nwitimes