US raw steel production edged down 0.9% last week, as a 4.9% boost in Northeast steel output was not enough to offset declines in the other four regions, American Iron and Steel Institute data published Monday showed.
In the week ended June 28, US mills made 1.863 million st of raw steel, down 0.9% from 1.88 million st in the prior week. Capability utilization dropped to 77.5% from 78.2%. Compared with the year-ago week, when production totaled 1.824 million st and mills operated at 76.1%, last week's steel production was up 2.1%.
Northeast steel mills produced 237,000 st last week, up 4.9% from 226,000 st.
Great Lakes mills cut back steel production 2% to 652,000 st from 655,000 st. Midwest mill output decreased 1.2% to 240,000 st from 243,000 st. Western steel mill output declined 6.7% to 83,000 st from 89,000 st. Southern steel mill production edged down 0.9% to 651,000 st from 657,000 st.
Year-to-date steel output was about flat year on year at 46.98 million st, compared with 46.99 million st in the same period of 2013.
AISI determines its weekly raw steel production data based on weekly data from 50% of the domestic industry and estimates the rest using monthly production data.
