date:May 02, 2013
quarter of the current year was down 3.1% from 106,213,000 cwts in the fourth quarters of 2012.
The 24-hour capacity of U.S. mills in January-March is similarly interpolated at 1,532,000 cwts, down 2,000 from the fourth quarter but 9,000 over the revised total for a year back. However, it was still down 7,000 from January-March 2011 when it was 1,539,000. Mills in the first quarter of 2013 operated at 88.4% of six-day capacity, off from 89.9% in the fourth quarter but up from 88.2% a year ago.