­­U.S. Steel Capacity Utilization: The total tonnage for the week ending April 24th was 1,781 million net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 78.4%. The year-to-date tonnage output is 29,588 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization rate of 76.9%. In 2020, the same output total was 29,832 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization of 75.8%.

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 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.