US Steel Production: February 2025 Shows Slight Decline and Weekly Gains
In the week ending February 8, 2025, U.S. domestic raw steel production totaled 1,675,000 net tons, showing a 3.0% decline from the same week in 2024, when production stood at 1,726,000 net tons. This decrease in output is accompanied by a reduction in the capability utilization rate, which fell from 77.7% in the prior year to 75.2% in the current week. This indicates a moderate slowdown in production compared to the previous year.
Despite the year-over-year decline, steel production saw a slight increase when compared to the previous week. In the week ending February 1, 2025, production was 1,656,000 net tons, and the capability utilization rate stood at 74.4%. This week’s production shows an incremental growth of 1.1% from the week before, signaling a potential stabilization or minor recovery in output.
Regional Production Breakdown
Steel production varies across the U.S., with different regions showing varying levels of output. For the week ending February 8, 2025, production in thousands of net tons by district was as follows:
• North East: 120,000 net tons
• Great Lakes: 496,000 net tons
• Midwest: 250,000 net tons
• Southern: 747,000 net tons
• Western: 62,000 net tons
The Southern region remains the largest producer, with 747,000 net tons, making up a significant portion of the total national output. The Great Lakes and Midwest regions also contribute notably, with 496,000 net tons and 250,000 net tons, respectively. The North East and Western regions show relatively smaller production numbers, with 120,000 net tons and 62,000 net tons, respectively.
Year-to-Date Steel Production: A Slight Uptick
For the year-to-date period, which includes production data through February 8, 2025, adjusted production reached 9,209,000 net tons, with a capability utilization rate of 74.2%. This represents a 0.3% increase from the same period in the previous year, during which 9,186,000 net tons of steel were produced, and the utilization rate was slightly higher at 75.4%.
The marginal growth in year-to-date production indicates a steady, albeit modest, recovery from the previous year’s figures, showing that production is holding steady despite the fluctuation in weekly figures.
