U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Sep 26 nudged up 1.7% on a week-on-week basis as production advanced across the nation’s two biggest steel-producing regions – Great Lakes and Southern, according to the latest report from the American Iron and Steel Institute ("AISI"). Capacity utilization – a key metric in the steel industry – also went up on a weekly comparison basis. According to data released by AISI – an association of North American steel makers – domestic raw steel production was 1,735,000 net tons for the reported week with a capability utilization rate of 72.6%, up from production of 1,706,000 net tons and capability utilization rate of 71.4% for the week ending Sep 19. However, the reported weekly production represents a 7.6% fall from the same period a year ago. By districts, production from Great Lakes notched up a 0.6% gain on a weekly basis to 625,000 net tons in the reported week. Output from the Southern district – the second-largest steel-producing region – moved up 2.2% to 599,000 net tons. Raw steel production from the North East region slipped 2.4% to 206,000 net tons. Output from the Midwest was flat at 218,000 net tons. The Western region raked in a healthy gain of 24.3% in... More