U.S. steel production fell by 2.4 percent in the week that ended Saturday, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate. Local production fell by 22,000 tons, or about 3.2 percent.
Most of the raw steel production in the Great Lakes region takes place in Indiana and the Chicago area.
Production in the Southern District, typically the nation's second biggest steel-producing region, fell to 634,000 tons, down from 643,000 tons the previous week.
Total domestic raw steel production last week was about 1.835 million tons, down from 1.882 million tons a week earlier.
Nationally, domestic steel mills had a capacity utilization rate of 76.3 percent last week, down from 78.2 percent a week earlier. The capacity utilization rate had been 76.2 percent a year earlier.
Imports rose 12.7 percent to 4.4 million net tons in October, a 42 percent increase over last year, according to the American Institute for International Steel. Brazil sent United States the most steel — 642,000 net tons — a 58 percent increase over October of 2013.
Imports jumped because of strong economic growth in the United States, the AIIS reported. The economy grew 4.6 percent in the second quarter, and then 3.9 percent in the third quarter.
New EPA regulations could put U.S. steelmakers at a competitive disadvantage internationally, American Iron and Steel Institute President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Gibson said. Steel mills are some of the largest users of electricity, and prices would rise by an estimated 6 percent to 7 percent.
"The EPA's plan to further regulate electricity from power plants may lead to higher costs of electricity to large industrial customers like steel, while potentially lessening the quality and reliability of the electric supply that is essential for our industry to operate and succeed," Gibson said. "In addition, the plan could put steel producers in the U.S. at a disadvantage against competitors in other nations that generally have higher rates of greenhouse gas emissions, and some of which benefit from subsidized energy costs. Such a result would not only be detrimental to the domestic steel industry and its employees, but to the larger global environment."
Source:nwitimes.com
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