­­U.S. Steel Capacity Utilization: The total tonnage for the week ending July 25th was 1,320 million net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 58.9%. The year to date tonnage output is 45,810 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization rate of 57.8%. In 2019, the same output total was 56,946 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization of 81.4%.

Figure 1 shows production on the left-hand scale and capacity utilization as a percent on the right-hand scale. Capacity utilization and production picked up at the beginning of May since the Covid-19 outbreak.

At Gerdau, we track US steel production and capacity utilization to keep an eye on the overall health of the US steel industry. We feel it is important to understand the forces that influence steel demand to include the strength of the US economy and import penetration.