­­U.S. Steel Capacity Utilization: The total tonnage for the week ending March 27th was 1,760 million net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 77.6%. The year-to-date tonnage output is 22,510 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization rate of 76.5%. In 2020, the same output total was 24,515 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization of 80.9%.

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 2020 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.