The volume of raw steel produced by US mills declined last week to the lowest rate recorded in over four months, according to recently released American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data. Domestic production has been historically strong for most of the year, recently touching a six-year high.
Total raw steel output was estimated at 1,820,000 short tons (st) in the week ending August 8, a 50,000 st or 2.7% reduction from the prior week (Figure 1). Production is 3.2% higher than the same week of 2025.
Production was 0.2% below the year-to-date (YTD) weekly average of 1,823,000 st. YTD production now totals 57,330,000 st, up 5.7% from the same period of last year.
The mill capability utilization rate was 78.8% last week. This is lower than the previous week (81.0%) but higher than it was the same week of last year (78.2%).
Raw production declined week over week (w/w) in four of the five regions defined by AISI:
- Northeast – 134,000 st (up 9,000 st)
- Great Lakes – 467,000 st (down 29,000 st)
- Midwest – 313,000 st (down 7,000 st)
- South – 841,000 st (down 19,000 st)
- West – 65,000 st (down 4,000 st)
Editor’s note: AISI previously indicated that its weekly raw steel production report would be delayed due to a staff emergency. “Sadly, we lost a colleague,” an AISI spokesperson told SMU. The data series has since been restored, and AISI intends to continue publishing weekly raw steel production figures as usual going forward.
Disclaimer: The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated and should be used primarily to assess production trends. The graphic included in this report shows unadjusted weekly data. The monthly AISI “AIS 7” report is available by subscription and provides a more detailed summary of domestic steel production.