Great Lakes steel production rose to 692,000 tons last week, a 4.21 percent increase.It was the third straight weekly increase after a four-week slide.

Steel mills in the Great Lakes region cranked out 664,000 tons of metal the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. Most of the steel made in the Great Lakes region is produced in Lake and Porter counties in Northwest Indiana.

So far this year, U.S. steelmakers have produced 29.45 million tons of steel, about 3.6 percent more than they did during the same period in 2016. Steel mills have been running at a capacity of 74.3 percent so far this year, up from 71.6 percent through the same time last year.

Domestic steelmakers used about 75.1 percent of their steelmaking capacity in the week that ended April 29, up from 73.6 percent the previous week, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Capacity utilization was, however, up from 72.6 percent during the same time period in 2016.Overall U.S. steel output rose by 35,000 tons last week to 1.75 million tons, a 2 percent increase, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

Output in the Southern District, the second largest steel-producing region, which spans mini-mills across the South, increased to 616,000 tons last week, up from 602,000 tons the previous week.

 

Source:nwitimes.com

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