Raw steel production in the Great Lakes region plummeted to 593,000 tons last week, ending a two week-streak of gains.

Local steel output has been much lower than normal all this year amid a flood of imports that now account for a record 32 percent of the total market share. Overall U.S. production trails 2014 by 7.3 percent.

Great Lakes steel production fell by 38,000 tons, or 6 percent, in the week that ended Saturday, according to an American Iron and Steel Institute estimate. Overall U.S. steel output rose by 1.3 percent over the same period.

Most of the raw steel production in the Great Lakes region takes place in the Chicago area, mainly Lake and Porter counties in Northwest Indiana. Indiana has led the nation in steel production for more than 30 years

Production in the Southern District, which encompasses mini-mills across the American South, soared to 602,000 tons last week, up from 553,000 tons the week before.

Total domestic raw steel production last week was about 1.722 million tons, up from 1.7 million tons a week earlier.

Nationally, domestic steel mills had a capacity utilization rate of 72.8 percent last week, up from 71.9 percent a week earlier. The capacity utilization rate had been 78.5 percent at the same time a year earlier.

Year-to-date output was 38.2 million net tons, at a capacity utilization rate of 72.3 percent, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.