Steel output on downward slope in January

During the week ending Jan. 20, domestic raw steel production of 1.682 million tons represented a 1 percent decline from the 1.699 million tons made the previous week, according to the Washington-based American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

The most recent weekly figure marks the second consecutive decline in output in the United States. Steelmakers started the year in the week ending Jan. 6 by producing 1.707 million tons at their melt shops.

However, output fell the next week by 0.5 percent to 1.699 million tons and now has dropped another 1 percent to 1.682 million tons.

The domestic steel market is one of two major demand factors tying into ferrous scrap pricing for recyclers, with the other being export demand. In December and January, a combination of solid demand and some weather-related supply issues has helped maintain favorable prices for many scrap processors.

Measured against January 2023 output, the news seems slightly better. In the first 20 days of this year, the 4.844 million tons produced by steelmakers is up by 0.2 percent compared with the 4.835 million tons produced during the comparable time frame last year.

So far this year, mills have been operating at a capability utilization (capacity) rate of 76.3 percent, which is up slightly from the 75.9 percent average in the first three weeks of 2023, according to AISI.

Based on the most recent week of output, steelmaking in 2024 will be based largely in two geographic regions. Of the 1.682 million tons of steel made in the U.S. last week, 754,000 (nearly 45 percent) was made in the AISI South district while another 543,000 (32.3 percent) tons came from its Great Lakes district.

The other three AISI districts and their output volumes last week were the Midwest (188,000, or 11.2 percent); North East (132,000, or 7.8 percent); and Western (65,000, or just 3.9 percent.)