Weekly domestic raw steel production increased 1.8% to 1.947 million tons (mt) for the week ending March 24, 2012 and was up 5.6% against the year-ago level. The highest production since the recession began was 1.959 mt on March 10, 2012, while the lowest was 0.8 mt on December 27, 2008.

The capacity utilization rate also posted an increase, coming in at 78.8% compared to 77.4% last week and higher than the year-ago level of 75.4%. The highest capacity utilization rate since the recession began was 79.3% on March 10, 2012, while the lowest was 33.5% on December 27, 2008.