Iron & Steel Mills
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 260 iron and steel producers in the US process iron ore, scrap metal, and other raw materials into semi-finished steel products. Products include iron ore, steel sheets (cold or hot rolled), strips, bars, plates, pilings, and rails. Major customers include fabricators, manufacturers, intermediate steel processors, and service centers that convert semi-finished steel into finished goods. Some companies are vertically integrated and may own facilities to produce raw materials and/or finished steel products.
Competition From Imports
Imports account for almost 25% of the US iron and steel market.
Competition From Alternative Materials
Depending on the end use, steel products compete with goods made from concrete, aluminum, plastics, wood, and composites.
Industry size & Structure
Industry Forecast
Iron & Steel Mills Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 23, 2024 - Employment and Prices Fell in 2023
- Employment by iron and steel mills fell 2.4% in December compared to a year ago, giving up the gains made in the previous annual comparison, data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show. Employment by iron and steel mills remains well below pre-pandemic levels and has largely been declining over the past decade amid automation and increased global competition. In 2023, average wages at primary metals manufacturers continued their steady rise that began in 2021 ending the year at a new high of $29.17 per hour in December, up 7% year over year, per the BLS. The rise in wages came amid declining producer prices, which fell 6.7% in December compared to a year earlier.
- To reduce their carbon emissions, steelmakers and other industrial companies may someday rely on heat-storing batteries to fuel their operations, The Wall Street Journal reports. Investors are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into startups developing heat batteries (aka thermal batteries) that use renewable energy to heat blocks, rocks, or molten salt that release heat to power industrial processes. California start-up Antora Energy is developing batteries made of carbon blocks that discharge heat on demand at temperatures as high as roughly 2,750 degrees Fahrenheit, per WSJ. Antora and other heat-battery startups say thermal batteries can cheaply store days' worth of renewable energy using such an approach. Currently, industrial processes like cement and steelmaking burn fossil fuels to generate heat, with heat released from industrial processes accounting for about a fifth of global energy use and roughly 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to WSJ.
- The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) is in the early stages of reviewing the deal to sell US Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel, Fortune reported in January. CFIUS is a US Treasury-led interagency panel that has the power to recommend the president block deals if they pose a threat to national security. Coming in an election year, the sale of an iconic US industrial company to a foreign operator has political and policy implications for the Biden administration, which has sought to expand the definition of national security to include safeguarding the economy. The United Steelworkers union opposes the sale, saying it will cost members jobs. Short of blocking the deal, the administration could require the steel companies to agree to certain terms, including that the merged entity maintain steel-production capacity or protect manufacturing techniques, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- Pollution-intensive industries are pushing back against the Biden administration’s tightening air quality standards saying the cost of clean air is too high relative to its health benefits, The New York Times reported in November. An October letter to The White House signed by the American Iron and Steel Institute, Steel Manufacturers Association, and a broad coalition of industries and manufacturers warned that under the new regulations governing soot being considered by the EPA, “no room would be left for new economic development” in many areas if the agency went ahead with a standard as tough as it was contemplating, endangering the manufacturing recovery. The EPA estimates the potential benefits at as much as $55 billion by 2032 if it drops the limit to nine micrograms per cubic meter, from the current 12 micrograms – far more than the $500 million it estimates the proposal would cost.
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