­U.S. Steel Capacity Utilization: The total tonnage for the week ending December 25th was 1.802 million net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 81.6%. The year-to-date tonnage output is 94.185 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization rate of 81.1%. In 2020, the same output total was 78.758 million net tons, at an average capacity utilization of 67.0%.

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.