U.S. Domestic Raw Steel Production Slips in Early March 2025, Showing Year-Over-Year Decline
In the week ending March 1, 2025, U.S. domestic raw steel production reached 1,641,000 net tons, reflecting a 4.6% decrease compared to the same week in 2024, when production was 1,721,000 net tons. Along with the production drop, the capability utilization rate also declined to 73.7% from 77.5% the previous year. This decline represents a trend of slower production growth in the U.S. steel industry, which has faced challenges in the past year due to a combination of domestic and global economic pressures.
Weekly Comparison: Production and Utilization Rates
The week-to-week comparison shows that the most recent data also reveals a slight dip in production. For the week ending February 22, 2025, production stood at 1,659,000 net tons, resulting in a capability utilization rate of 74.5%. The 1.1% decline in weekly production, compared to March 1, 2025, underscores a modest slowdown in steel output despite the ongoing industrial demand.
Breakdown of Production by Region
The regional breakdown for the week ending March 1, 2025 shows varying production levels across the U.S. steel industry:
• North East: 122,000 net tons
• Great Lakes: 464,000 net tons
• Midwest: 229,000 net tons
• Southern: 763,000 net tons
• Western: 63,000 net tons
This regional distribution highlights the continued dominance of the Southern and Great Lakes regions in the U.S. steel industry, with these two regions together accounting for a significant portion of the total production.
Year-to-Date Trends in Steel Production
For the year-to-date period through March 1, 2025, total steel production was 14,179,000 net tons. This is a 1.3% decrease from 14,359,000 net tons during the same period last year, with a slight drop in the capability utilization rate, from 75.4% to 74.3%. This decline suggests that the U.S. steel industry is facing challenges in maintaining output levels from the previous year, potentially due to factors like changing market conditions, competition, and external factors affecting demand and supply.
Key Takeaways:
• U.S. steel production for the week ending March 1, 2025 was 1,641,000 net tons, a 4.6% decrease compared to the same week in 2024.
• The capability utilization rate for steel production declined to 73.7%, down from 77.5% in 2024.
• Weekly production decreased by 1.1%, from 1,659,000 net tons in the week ending February 22, 2025.
• Year-to-date production through March 1, 2025 was 14,179,000 net tons, showing a 1.3% decrease compared to the previous year.
• Regional steel production breakdown for the week ending March 1, 2025:
o North East: 122,000 net tons
o Great Lakes: 464,000 net tons
o Midwest: 229,000 net tons
o Southern: 763,000 net tons
o Western: 63,000 net tons
