­­U.S. Steel Capacity Utilization: The total tonnage for the week ending September 25th was 1.880 million net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 85.2%. The year-to-date tonnage output is 70.216 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization rate of 80.3%. In 2020, the same output total was 58.477 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization of 65.8%.

Figure 1 shows production on the left-hand scale and capacity utilization as a percentage 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 U.S. steel production and capacity utilization to keep an eye on the overall health of the steel industry. We feel it is important to understand the forces that influence steel demand, including the strength of the U.S. economy and import penetration.