Region No. 1 in steelmaking

By Andrea Holecek
andrea.holecek@nwi.com, (219) 933-3316 | Wednesday, March 18, 2009

For the first time in more than six years, the Northwest Indiana/Chicago area became the country's top steel-producing region during the week ending March 14.

Though it has held the title of top steel producer in the past, the Calumet Region lost the distinction in October 2002 as more steel companies opened mills in the southern United States. The move south came at the same time the local region's integrated mills idled production in the midst of a flood of cheap, imported steel.

The South held the title even through summer 2008, when all region mills were operating at full capacity. But the recent consolidation of production here as a result of the economic downturn returned Northwest Indiana and its surrounding area to the top of the list.

Northwest Indiana is one of the few areas of the country in which steel giants U.S. Steel Corp. and ArcelorMittal are concentrating production.

"We’re seeing regional variations in levels of production as the industry responds to market demand," said Nancy Gravatt, spokeswoman for the American Iron and Steel Institute, which compiles the weekly regional production statistics.

"The individual companies that make up the North American steel industry continually analyze market conditions and seek to adjust production levels consistent with customer demand, including temporarily idling certain facilities as we have seen in recent months," Gravatt said. "So there may be regional variations in production levels, which are a necessary response to current market conditions."
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