Steel output in US remains off 2023 pace

Steel output in the United States reached 80.5 million tons this year through Nov. 30, down 2.3 percent from the 82.4 million tons produced through Nov. 30, 2023.

The statistics collected and published by the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) indicate mills in the U.S. have been operating at an average 75.8 percent capability utilization (capacity) rate so far this year, which is down slightly from the 76.1 percent average rate in the first 11 months of 2023.

In the most recent week ending Nov. 30, domestic steel production of 1.64 million tons was down by 2.9 percent from the comparable week a year ago and down 1 percent from the prior week, according to AISI. The capacity rate in the most recent week was 73.8 percent.

Regionally in the most recent week, the AISI’s Southern district produced the most steel with 690,000 tons of output. That district was followed by the Great Lakes district (544,000 tons); the Midwest (227,000 tons); the AISI North East district (127,000 tons); and its Western district (50,000 tons).

In data that also influence domestic steel production and recycled steel demand, AISI also publishes U.S. Census Bureau figures on steel imports and reports that inbound shipments in October rose by 12 percent compared with the prior month.

Year to date after 10 months, the imported steel volume has risen by 2.6 percent. Imported blooms, billet and slabs represent the largest import category, with about 5.56 million tons imported, or about 22.5 percent of the total.

After 10 months in 2024, the largest suppliers of steel imported by U.S. companies were Canada (5.56 million tons); Brazil (4.08 million); Mexico (2.91 million); and South Korea (2.42 million). China, often cited as a cause of global steel mill overcapacity, has directly shipped 411,000 tons of steel to the U.S. so far in 2024, down 22.2 percent from the volume shipped in the same time frame last year.