U.S. Steel Sector Hits Capacity Utilization Rate of 81.1%

For the year as of July 20, the U.S. steel sector notched a capacity utilization rate of 81.1%, up from 77.0% for the same period in 2018, according to the U.S. steel production report released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
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Year-to-date production reached 54.2 million tons, up 5.0% from the 51.6 million tons produced during the same period in 2018.
Meanwhile, for the week ending July 20, U.S. steel production reached 1.9 million tons at a capacity utilization rate of 80.4%. The weekly production total marked a 1.8% from production during the same week in 2018, when production hit 1.8 million tons at a capacity utilization rate of 78.4%.
Production for the week ending July 20, 2019, was up 0.3% from the previous week, when the capacity utilization rate reached 80.2%, according to AISI.
By region, production for the week ending July 20, 2019, reached:

  • Northeast: 205,000 tons
  • Great Lakes: 685,000 tons
  • Midwest: 204,000 tons
  • Southern: 697,000 tons
  • Western: 81,000 tons

According to another AISI report released late last month, U.S. imports of steel for the first five months of the year reached 13.6 million tons, down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Finished steel imports for the same period reached 10.0 million tons, marking an 18.1% decrease from the same period in 2018.
Finished steel import market share came in at an estimated 19% in May, according to AISI, and 21% for the January-May 2019 period.
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In other recent steel news, the U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced it found evidence of dumping and countervailable subsidies with respect to imports of steel racks from China.
According to the Department of Commerce, imports of the steel racks from China were valued at $200 million in 2017. From 2016 to 2017, imports of the steel racks from China increased by 15.7%
The Department of Commerce calculate dumping rates ranging from 18.06% to 144.50% and countervailable subsidies ranging from 1.50% to 102.23%.

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  • U.S. producers have filed cases accusing foreign steelmakers of dumping and subsidizing four varieties of steel products. In December, the government found that China, India, Italy and South Korea had dumped corrosion-resistant steel in the U.S. and levied taxes of 256% on imports from China. Other duties ranged from 3% to 9%.

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