Raw steel production in the country's Great Lakes region was 639,000 tons in the week that ended Saturday, according to estimates from the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Production was down 44,000 tons from the week prior. The majority of raw steel production in the Great Lakes region occurs in Indiana and the Chicago area.
Production in the Southern District was estimated at 581,000 tons during the period that ended Jan. 5, down from about 612,000 tons a week earlier.
Domestic mills produced about 1.76 million tons of steel last week, down 7.7 percent from the same period in 2012.
U.S. steel mills had a capacity utilization rate of 72.6 percent last week, which is down from a 73.9 percent production rate a week earlier.
The organization also changed it calculation for domestic raw steelmaking capacity in the United States. The change to 30.8 million tons from 32.3 million tons reflects the closure of steelmaking facilities last year, new facilities expected to come online and improvements to existing facilities to increase their production capability.
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