­­U.S. Steel Capacity Utilization: The total tonnage for the week ending October 31st was 1,557 million net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 70.4%. The year to date tonnage output is 66,097 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization rate of 66.2%. In 2019, the same output total was 80,906 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization of 80.8%.

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 June 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.