Raw steel production rose to 612,000 tons in the Great Lakes region last week, after three straight weeks of sharp drops.
Capacity utilization had been mired at a yearly low but increased slightly to 69.3 percent last week, though overall U.S. production still trails 2014 by 5.1 percent.
Local steel production rose by 9,000 tons, or 1.49 percent in the week that ended Saturday, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate. Overall U.S. steel output rose by 0.98 percent over the same period.
Most of the raw steel production in the Great Lakes region takes place in the Chicago area, chiefly Lake and Porter counties in Northwest Indiana. Indiana has led the nation in steel production for decades.
Production in the Southern District, typically the country's second-biggest steel-producing region, inched up slightly to 536,000 tons last week, up about 1,000 tons from the week before.
Total domestic raw steel production last week was about 1.639 million tons, up from 1.623 million tons a week earlier.
Nationally, domestic steel mills had a capacity utilization rate of 69.3 percent last week, up from 68.7 percent a week earlier. The capacity utilization rate had been 77.7 percent at the same time a year earlier.
Year-to-date output was 19.9 million net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 73.7 percent, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Production so far this year trails the 2014 rate by 5.3 percent, while capacity utilization lags last year by an eye-popping 12.3 percent.
Source: NW Times
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