Raw steel production in the country's Great Lakes region fell to 654,000 tons in the week that ended Saturday, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate.

Production fell by about 38,000 tons, or about 5.5 percent, from the week prior, after two straight weeks of increases. Most of the raw steel production in the Great Lakes region takes place in Indiana and the Chicago area.

Production in the Southern District was estimated at 673,000 tons, up from 665,000 tons a week earlier. Total domestic raw steel production last week was about 1.83 million tons, down from 1.84 million tons a week prior.

U.S. steel mills had a capacity utilization rate of 76.6 percent last week, down from 77.1 percent a week earlier. The capacity utilization rate had been 68 percent at the same time last year.

So far this year, domestic steel producers have had a capacity utilization rate of 77.2 percent, which is up from 76.1 percent during the same period in 2012.

Domestic mills have produced an estimated 77.7 million tons of steel this year, down 2.5 percent from the same period last year. The mills had made about 79.7 million tons of steel by Oct. 19, 2012.

Global steel production was 1.18 billion for the first nine months of 2013, a 2.7 percent increase over the same period in 2012, according to a World Steel Association estimate.

So far this year, steel production has risen in Asia but declined in Europe and North America. Steel production in North America fell 4.1 percent to 88.9 million tons during the first three quarters of the years, the association estimates.